


The Admiral's Daughter

by dinui_parjai



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Battlefront (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen, Hask is still a big jerk, Stormtrooper! Del, What-If, non-imperial Iden
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:22:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 28,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25341640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dinui_parjai/pseuds/dinui_parjai
Summary: Nineteen year old Iden Versio didn't care to remember her father- she had been five years old when her parents divorced, and Iden knew she was safer away from her father's zealous ways. The Empire was as strange as the white clad soldiers used to defend it.But she would always be Garrick Versio's daughter, and he never let her forget what her life could have been like if she lived with him, far away on Vardos and Coruscant and away from the loving arms of her mother.Iden didn't want to ever get involved with the Empire. It had trapped her mother, why should she let it do the same for her?Destiny must've had other plans, because it brought the war to peaceful Svaaha. Iden Makes a "friend" who changes her life- forever.
Relationships: Del Meeko & Adiana Caton, Del Meeko & Garrick Versio, Del Meeko & Gideon Hask, Del Meeko & Zeehay Versio, Del Meeko/Iden Versio, Gideon Hask & Garrick Versio, Iden Versio & Garrick Versio, Iden Versio & Gideon Hask, Iden Versio & Seyn Marana, Iden Versio & Zeehay Versio, Seyn Marana & Gideon Hask
Comments: 10
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Another short one, bois. We've got 10 chapters.

###  3 BBY

Iden Versio was used to living her life on a day-to-day basis. That was just how life went. Every single day, no matter where she lived. 

And she had lived in a lot of places over the years. 

Her mother, Zeehay, had escaped her father’s clutches and spirited Iden away as soon as the divorce was finalized. They traveled the galaxy for Zeehay’s work, until finally settling on Svaaha. And, since they had been here for several months, Iden was beginning to think of it as finally being a home. 

It wasn’t the nicest of places, by far. Iden had faint memories of her years on Vardos, of having warm food and a soft bed, but would rather be living comfortably with her mother than lavishly with her father.

And now that her mother was sick, there wasn’t a lot Iden could do except take care of her. They had come to Svaaha in order for her mother, loyal Imperial that she was, to spread the news of the Empire’s saving graces through her art.

It worked. People flocked towards the Empire, but- others didn’t, leading to a small occupation every once and awhile. Iden wondered whether she and her mother should have ever come to Svaaha in the first place.

Iden was in town one day, looking back and forth from the list her mother gave her when the attack happened. Svaahi went for cover and safety, and the stormtroopers that hadn’t been thrown every which way formed ranks and marched for the site of where the shots had come from. Iden often wondered why the white-clad soldiers often seemed to be impersonal and apathetic, but they did their job, and they did it _well,_ and there was no reason to argue. 

Iden uncovered her head from where she had ducked and looked over her shoulder. Several dead stormtroopers lined the streets, and Iden tried to turn away, but felt that she _couldn’t._

Growing up, her mother had always told her to trust her gut. Because if Zeehay had, their life would be a lot less miserable (her words, not Iden’s). So Iden crept _toward_ the carnage instead of _away._

And saw one of the injured troopers move. 

“Wait!” She called after the retreating group. But they were too far gone, and perhaps didn’t even care for their fallen comrade. Iden never saw any trooper who seemed to be a medic, and based on recruiting records it seemed like troopers were replenished too quickly to worry about losses.

Biting her lip, Iden crossed the street and found herself kneeling beside the man, and then she was gently sliding the helmet off as his breath changed from muffled through the helmet to gasps of air. 

Iden almost startled and shoved the helmet back on him. 

The man underneath was so…. so _young._

She hadn’t expected the faces of their soldiers to be so...normal. For some reason, in the quiet of her brain Iden always assumed they were ugly, like the worst pickings of a population that nobody would miss. 

But this soldier. 

This… _man_.

Iden took a breath as she set the helmet down beside his head. The man gasped a few more times, made eye contact with her, and then fainted. 

She panicked. 

People passed by on the other side of the street without caring, and Iden felt her anxiety grow as she bit the inside of her cheek. Was it safe to move him? Was he already dead? 

Iden leaned down and could still feel breath. Good. He wasn’t dead.

Yet. 

She could see by the damage to his armor that the wound was somewhere on his abdomen. So, if she were careful, she could move him. 

Determined, Iden slid the soldier’s arm over her shoulder and heaved him up. She was stronger than she looked, years of intensive, outdoor labor contributing to her physique, but armor was heavy and slick, and the man slipped several times. He stayed unconscious, so Iden could only pray she didn’t injure him further. 

If Svaaha were any other planet, Iden would probably be getting odd looks or worse. But it was a part of the planet that was third-world at the best. Iden and her mother could be considered saviors of a sort.

“Mama!” Iden called, when she was halfway down the road to their house. The stormtrooper- no, the _man_ was heavy. Iden had to set him down and begin to drag him using his underarms. He groaned, and Iden took it as a good sign that he was still feeling something.

Her mother, Zeehay, poked her head out of the house and looked at her, saw what was going on and immediately dropped what she was doing. “Iden! Be careful!” She chided, running up to help her.

“You think I’m trying to hurt him more?” Iden snapped back, and her mother gave her an annoyed look. “Where’s he hurt?”

“His chestplate is all messed up, so there must be something wrong there. And probably some head trauma.” Zeehay, too, looked put off by how young the man looked. Early twenties. Maybe.

“Where do we put him?”

“I don’t know, I really don’t, we don’t have an extra room.” 

The stormtrooper groaned again. 

“This armor isn't built for injury. He’s probably got it inside of him.” Zeehay wasn’t a doctor, but Iden knew her mother was smart. Much too smart for her profession.

“Why is there no blood?”

“As I said. It’s on the inside.”

Iden had seen death before. When she was 15 years old she had seen a neighbor back on one of their past homes (she couldn’t remember which planet, they hadn’t stayed long enough for it to cement) be killed in a rebel attack. Not part of the organized rebellion, just a group who didn’t like the Empire. 

Iden was honestly rather impartial towards the Empire. She had been raised in it of course, but her father’s absolute dedication to it made her a bit skeptical. She loved and respected her mother, too, but didn’t always understand her support of fascism. 

“He’ll just have my room, then.” Iden offered, and they lifted him over the doorway and into the house. After one more break, they got him to Iden’s room and onto her bed.

“Get him out of the armor.” Zeehay said, and Iden took ahold of the trooper’s hand and turned it over to start sliding it off when the man suddenly grasped her arm tightly, just for a few moments, then went still again. 

“He needs a real doctor, that's what he needs.” Zeehay said mostly to herself. 

“Oh yeah? Do you know one of those?” Iden quipped, knowing that there really wasn’t one of those nearby. Best there was to offer was an herbalist but usually, Svaahi just took care of their own.

“They just left him, mama. Why’d they do that?”

“I don’t know, Iden. But you were right to bring him here. Otherwise, he would probably be dead.” Zeehay was pulling off the man’s chest plates, and Iden could see blood, lots of it, on her mother’s hands. 

“What is it?” Iden asked.

“I just need to get this shrapnel and armour bits out from inside of him. Then we clean it and bandage it and hope for the best.”

Iden realized that the trooper, whoever he was, still had her hand in a death grip. She focused on that for the next several moments as her mother’s hands regained some of their youthness and worked deftly, her brow furrowed with concentration. All of the trooper’s armor was gone from the waist up, and her mother had cut away the black bodysuit around his wound, carefully picking out pieces.

“That’ll just have to do.” Zeehay decided, placing one of their few and precious bacta patches onto it. “Such a young man, too. I hope he pulls through.” 

Iden silently echoed the sentiment, gripping the soldier’s hand back and then slipping from his grip. At least now, his face was relaxed, and he looked almost as if he were just sleeping. Before she could stop herself, Iden wiped some of the sweaty hair from his face.

“Let’s leave him alone, Iden.” Her mother suggested, and Iden did. She tried to go about her day normally, to forget about the injured stormtrooper in her room, but she couldn’t. 

“What are we gonna do, mama?” 

“Whatever we can. Feed him and care for him as much as we can. Once he wakes up, we can help him get word back to his unit.”

“I guess I’ll share your room tonight.”

“And I’ll get dinner started.” Somehow, the groceries Iden had originally gone to town for still made it home. “What do you think? Should I make some for our friend?”

“I don’t think he’ll be waking up. He looks like he may be sick, too. You know how long I’m out when I’m sick.”

Zeehay pursed her lips. “I hope he’s not getting an infection, but there’s nothing we can do.”

“Should I watch him?” 

“No. But maybe get the rest of his armor off. Let his body sweat it away.”

Iden was inexplicably uncomfortable as she neared the sick trooper and began sliding off parts of his armor. It didn’t help that he moaned in pain and his eyes fluttered, and Iden wondered how in the world he fit his muscled body into the seemingly constricting armor. 

She nearly scurried back to her mother, dropping the curtain that served as the door to her room behind her. 

“I’ve got it.” She smiled at her mother. “You go finish your work.”

“No, Iden, it’s fine-“

Iden gave her a pointed “I need you to let me do this” look. “No, it’s not. The Empire needs you more than I do right now.” _Or, I just need to be left alone right now but want to be helpful._

Her mother smiled sadly and then went back to her room. 

And somehow the Empire, the _real_ Empire had reached their tiny little cottage on Svaaha. 

Iden’s life was about to change forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wonder who the stormtrooper is?


	2. Chapter 2

Three days later, the trooper stirred as Iden sat at his bedside, trying to combat his fever with a cool cloth to his forehead. Then, suddenly, his eyes opened, and Iden saw those green orbs once again.

He stared as if puzzled, then he startled fully awake with a gasp, sitting up so quickly he nearly collided foreheads with Iden.

“Am I dead?” He asked. Iden detected an accent, a specific Coruscanti drawl similar to what she remembered of her father’s.

“No. What makes you think that?” Iden wondered, and the trooper didn’t say anything else even if he looked like he wanted to. “You need to stay still.” She coaxed him back down. “You were hurt. I brought you back to my place so you could heal.”

“Where… What planet am I on?”

“Svaaha. The Undeveloped District.” Iden said, trying to be patient. “What’s your name?”

“Del.”

“Well, _Del_. My name is Iden and I need you to stay still and get some rest, okay? You’ve got an infection and a concussion, so you won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The address startled her, but she didn’t let him see it. It was just his instinct, probably. Del obeyed, lying back down and wincing. “Oh, kriff. What got me, then?”

“I’m not entirely sure. I don’t know much about weapons. But I think something kind of exploded once it got inside you. We were picking shrapnel out of you for hours.”

“Oh. Okay. Probably a concussion grenade, then. Not sure where you people got it from, but…”Del trailed off with a wince. At the words “you people”, Iden furrowed her eyebrows a bit, wondering if this man would still act like that once he knew who her father was. But Del wasn’t finished. “The rest of my unit?”

“Gone.”Iden said. “They, uh… They left you behind.”

“Left me behind…”Del echoed, and his eyes turned a bit sad. Iden felt immediately guilty, and the rules of hospitality her mother had driven into her quickly resurfaced.

“Let me get you something to eat, Del.” She said, and hurried off. Her mother peeked her head out from her room and hid her shaking hands in her pockets.

“Is he awake?”

“Yeah.”Iden responded. “I’ve got his name, but not much else. He still seems pretty disoriented.”

“Oh, yeah?” Zeehay smiled a bit as she asked, but Iden didn’t notice. “What’s his name, then?”

“Del.”

“Del what?”

“I don’t know, mama! I’m just going to let him talk when he’s ready.”

“Okay, then. Remember, Iden. He _just_ woke up.” Zeehay emphasized it for some reason, and then went back to her art.

Iden was carrying some soup back to her room to give him, when she saw that Del was sitting up in bed. Not just that, but he was lifting up the edge of the bacta patch, as if he were trying to look underneath.

“What are you doing!” Iden demanded, almost dropping the soup she held. It didn’t work, though, and only startled Del so that he accidentally ripped the rest of it off. He hissed, and then began to bleed everywhere all over again.

“I just wanted to see-” Iden didn’t let him finish and nearly slammed the bowl of soup onto her desk and then rushed to his side, and before she knew it she had shoved her hands against Del’s wound. He looked at her, flabbergasted. “Don’t you just have another bacta patch?”

“Actually, no we don’t. You’re in the middle of nowhere, Del. Or have you forgotten?” Iden was frustrated beyond belief at this insufferable man. Sure, she also had once thought like him, once out of the comfort of her father’s mansion on Vardos, but she had learned fairly quickly that credits did not grow on trees.

“Oh.”Del said it so casually, and Iden growled again. Leaving his side once more, she reached for the kit above what served as the stove and took another precious bacta patch out. There was only one left, and the next shipment wouldn’t be for a few more weeks.

“Here.”She said roughly, and slapped it on with a little more force than necessary. Del looked at her expectantly.

“What? Am I missing something?”

“You don’t have a stim shot or something, do you?”

“Nope.”Iden shook her head firmly. “You’re just going to have to bite the bullet, I guess.” _It’s what you deserve for disobeying orders._

He looked annoyed, but then eyed the soup Iden had brought, and she heard his stomach growl faintly. “This is yours.” Del began to reach for it, but Iden held it just out of his reach. “As long as you don’t keep doing anything stupid.”

“I won’t.” He promised, already sobering up a bit. Iden held out the soup again, and he took it, but his feverish hands were shaking so badly he couldn’t grip the spoon. Eyeing Iden a bit, he just lifted the bowl to his lips and drank. Clearly, he was uncomfortable, and Iden wondered if it was because he was used to manners or felt odd deigning to the level of “her people”. If he only knew who her father was…

“How old are you, Del?” Iden asked after a moment, and he stopped drinking and regarded her.

“Older than I look, I can assure you that.”

She folded her arms. “Try me.”

“I’m twenty-nine.”

Iden’s jaw actually dropped. “No way!”

He nodded, and handed back the bowl. “Whatever that was, it was better than the ration bars I’ve been living off of.”

“You do look like you’re particular about what you put into that body of yours.”Iden said without thinking. Her mother had always told her she was a blabbermouth, and she immediately covered hers and looked down. “I mean…”

Del wasn’t too offended. He didn’t consider himself skinny, nor fat, but depending on what food he had access to he could fluctuate. One time, he ate something that had made him so sick he lost 10 kilos in a week because he couldn’t retain anything.

“Tell your… mother, was it? Tell her I said thanks.” Del laid back a bit and closed his eyes. “I miss _my_ mother.” He admitted.

Iden blanched. She now knew stormtroopers were humans, but then she wondered how many of them had a family waiting for them. “You have a family?”

“I have my parents and two older brothers.” Del said, and his hands slowly came down from behind his head. “Or, one brother. The other was killed.”

“Oh.”Iden didn’t know what to say. “I’m… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It was those kriffing rebels, not you.”Del smiled a bit sadly. “So what about you, Iden? Any siblings?”

She shook her head. “Nope. My mother calls me her miracle child, so I guess that means I was destined to be an only child from the start.”

“Do you… Do you have a father?”

She wrinkled her face. “Everyone has a father.”

“No, I mean-” Del rolled his eyes a bit. “Is he around?”

“No.”She said it firmly, but not antagonistically. “He’s not. He hasn’t been for a long time.”

Del seemed to know when to be quiet, at least, even if he couldn’t stand silence. As long as he was awake, he needed something to fill the void of silence, and if he couldn’t move or get out of bed, talking usually seemed to do it. And Iden hadn’t pushed him away yet.

“It just occurred to me, I haven’t yet thanked you for opening your home to me, Iden. You, and your mother. It’s… quite nice. I grew up different, but I had no idea I enjoyed things so… homey.” He looked around more, and realized that he wasn’t just inside a room. There were pictures and drawings on the wall, and over a chair in a corner he could see a homespun looking dress slung over the back.

“Oh, I’m in your room, aren’t I?” He flushed a bit, and Iden wondered why until she realized the implication, things she had learned only from her mother’s romance novels that were her guilty pleasure.

“Yeah, we didn’t have anywhere else. You couldn’t exactly fit on the couch, and we need the table to cook and eat.”

“Where have you been sleeping then?”

“In my mother’s room. Don’t worry, it’s where I usually am, anyway, watching and taking care of her.” Iden’s face fell a bit. “She’s sick, and the doctor said Svaahi air would be good, so we moved.”

Del cocked his head a bit. “To the Undeveloped District?”

She shrugged. “Mama liked the idea of an adventure. Living new and different, and all that. Now I’m just counting down the days until I have to return to my father.”

“Surely you’re over eighteen. You wouldn’t _have_ to do anything.”

“My father is the kind of man who would send a legion of stormtroopers after me and drag me kicking and screaming back to him. I’d rather not do that.”

So her father was powerful. Del didn’t know what to say to that. “Well, if it comes to that, I wish you all the best. But not _too_ soon.”

“Of course. Thank you, Del.”

Iden found the silence to be too much, and too awkward, so she gently reached out a hand to Del’s forehead again. “Your fever’s gone down. That’s good. That means the bacta patch is working.”She emphasized the words because of his earlier stupidity and he chuckled a bit.

“Glad to hear it. Any idea when I can be getting out of bed?”

She pursed her lips. “Depends. If you want me to stitch it up, not too long. If you want to wait for the next time we have bacta, awhile.”

“Wouldn’t you just stitch it up _and_ do bacta?”

“We don’t have unlimited resources, Del. This isn’t the Coruscant Medcenter.”

“I dunno. I kind of like the service here much better.”Del grinned, and Iden felt her cheeks warm. “And as much as I love getting stitches, I don’t think I don’t think I would like any right now.”

“Okay.”

“Do you have a way for me to contact my unit?”Del asked innocently. Iden blanched a moment then decided to respond in the negative.

“No. Mama decided to go without so we could get away from my father and the Empire. I could probably find them, but they may be broken.”

“Oh. Well I can fix one, then.” Del said. “If you can find it, I mean.”

“Okay.”Iden smiled, and Del felt his heart flutter a bit. He quickly looked away, shifting awkwardly.

“You should get some more rest, Del.” She said next, and he nodded, lying completely prone and folding one arm across his chest.

“Goodnight, Iden.” He said.

She stopped in the doorway. Sure, she’d been talking with him for a long time, and he was nice, but since when was a stormtrooper so… polite?

“Goodnight, Del.” She said anyway.

* * *

Iden went somewhat hungry for the next few days, rationing out the food for three people and giving most of her portion to her mother and Del. She would sneak fruit from the trees in the garden during her chores, and only one time had she underestimated the ripeness and it left a bad taste in her mouth. What she didn’t account for one day, was being caught.

The floorboards in the small house were not quiet, and as Iden was pouring rice and meat into three bowls she suddenly heard them creak loudly, and then the stormtrooper, Del, was behind her.

“What are you doing?” He asked.

“I’m… making lunch.” She said, cringing a bit as he came up behind her. He was so tall, Iden noticed. And his undersuit was now a crop top at best. Iden knew men found little to no shame in walking around half-naked but, still, she had never really been around one who did that before. “You shouldn’t be out of bed.”

“You said my fever broke.” He reminded her. “And my wound still has a bacta patch on it, and it hasn’t indicated it needs to be changed, yet.”

“Fine.” Iden turned back to the three bowls. Del hummed softly and grabbed the bag of rice before she could reach for it, using his full height.

“We’re going to have to get you some clothes.” Iden said, eyeing him up and down. His body suit was very… fitting. And tight.

“I wish I had some but I really don’t.” Del handed back the rice. “I can’t think of the last time I actually wore real clothes.”

Iden felt several emotions go through her mind at that. “You mean… you don’t remember what it feels like to feel something soft?”

“Not really.”

“You’re missing out.”Iden said sadly. “Hold on a moment-” She rushed off to her room and grabbed a large poncho that she had made at one point. It was big enough to cover her entire body, but on Del…

He exclaimed when she returned and tossed it over his head. “Muunyak-wool yarn.”She explained, and watched with satisfaction as Del melted into it.

“Oh, wow.”He said softly. “This is… this is really nice. You made this?”

“Yep. It can be your shirt for now, given that your other one’s ruined.” The poncho became a tunic on Del, and covered up the more clingy parts of his bodysuit.

“Hold on a moment.”He said, and walked back into her room. Iden turned and followed him, puzzled, just in time to see his bare back flex with muscle as he changed out of the tight black shirt entirely, then slid the light blue poncho back on.

“Now, then. What’s for lunch?” He asked, as Iden slid his bowl in front of him.

“Also Muunyak. Steak.” She said. “And rice.” Iden called her mother in from the back where she was working and sat down at Del’s side. She was starving, and dug in, and Del watched her, puzzled.

“What?”

Wordlessly, Del reached out and tipped her bowl towards him, and saw the obvious discrepancy between the quantities of their food. He looked at her, features creasing.

“Have you always done this?” He asked.

“Um….”Iden flushed. “You’re the guest, Del. You need food.”

Del’s frown deepened when he saw that Iden’s mother’s bowl also had more than Iden’s.

“Nonsense.” He declared, and switched out their bowls before Iden could protest. Her mother walked in just in time.

“Good to see someone who enjoys Iden’s cooking.” She smiled widely. “You’ve almost eaten it all, you growing boy.”

“I’m nearly thirty years old, ma’am.”Del reminded her with a smile. Zeehay waved it off and shot a glance at Iden, who had resumed eating again in silence.

“Iden also told me you were to thank for my wound being fixed.” Del went on. “Thanks for that, too.”

“Oh, you know- anything for one of our soldiers.”

“Least I won’t be one much longer.” Del said. “I’ve been asked to pursue an engineering path. Seems my skills caught the attention of an Admiral.”

“Oh, really?” Iden asked innocently. “Which one?”

“Admiral Garrick Versio. From Vardos.”

Zeehay choked, then began to cough to cover it up. Del looked concerned, and Iden gripped her mother’s arm.

“I’m okay. I’m okay!” Zeehay coughed again, but she had tears in her eyes as she drank water that was offered.

I didn’t know my father had become an Admiral… Iden thought to herself. And clearly her mother didn’t either.

“That’s really good, Del. Congratulations.” Iden said through gritted teeth. Meanwhile, she was gently helping her mother up. “Come on, mama. Let’s go back to your room.”

“No, I’m fine.” Zeehay lightly pushed her daughter away. And it was then she noticed Del’s current outfit and pursed her lips. “We need to find him some clothes.”

Del immediately began to protest, but when faced with the fact that he could be here for weeks, he finally relented. “But I’m paying you back. Somehow.”

Iden knew the end of a conversation when she heard it and just nodded,not knowing how it would be possible but accepting it.

“I’m going to go look for a commlink.” She said.

* * *

Del became stronger over the next few days, and the bacta patch still indicated green so it didn’t need to be changed. Iden caught him walking around more, frustration on his face.

“I can’t fix it yet,”He said, holding the outdated commlink. “I need a few more parts, and other than that I’m feeling very, very restless. I’m used to always doing something instead of laying around. I was diagnosed with hyperactivity when I was a child.”

“I’m sorry there’s not much to do around here.”Iden could understand the feeling. She’d gotten bored on Svaaha before, many times.

“Maybe I could…. help with some of your chores? Unless you think I would strain myself.”

“Sure.” Iden decided, shrugging easily. “You can come to town with me today. We’re actually going to the main part of Svaaha for the monthly pickup, so we’ll take the speeder and be gone most of the day.”

“Okay. Sounds fun!” He said, and once Iden had grabbed a box and a bag and attached it to the back of the speeder, they were off. Del was sitting behind her, and she tried not to think about it too much: his hands around her waist as they zoomed along.

It was too loud to talk, but Iden did feel one of Del’s lithe fingers constantly tapping as if in code. Like he was still trying to talk to her.

That’s what he meant by being hyperactive. He can’t sit still.

It was almost cute.

“I did want to ask you about your dream.” Iden said as they walked along, once dismounting in the city.

“What dream?”

“You’ve been talking in your sleep. I couldn’t tell if you were having a nightmare or what.”

“Oh, yeah…”Del scratched his neck. “I get them from time to time.”

“Every night?” Iden reiterated.

“...Maybe. I’m in a new place. That could be it.”

“I’m sorry. Do you want to talk about it?”

“I can’t even remember what I was dreaming about.”

An odd feeling set in Iden’s stomach. She was going to miss Del when he finally had to leave. Part of Iden hoped he never fixed the commlink.

“Why don’t you just hop on a ship and fly back to Coruscant for reassigning?” She wondered. “Or didn’t you say the Admiral wanted you?”

“I couldn’t do that. I’d be executed for desertion before I could explain myself. Stormtroopers have a protocol to follow: if at any time we are separated, our first job is to establish a communication with our unit, first and foremost. I definitely need to follow that if I have hopes of being in the navy when I get back.”

“Oh.” Iden said as she paid for some dried meat at a stall. It was that part of the Empire which made her skeptical, the political and logistical side. Where if you made one false step you were dead.

They kept walking, until suddenly Iden bumped into something she walked back a bit, dazed, and then a man leaned over and yelled gruffly at her:

“Watch where you’re going, missy.”

It was in Svaahi, but Del seemed to get the gist as Iden ducked her head and moved the other way, even though it had been the man who got into her way in the first place.

“Come on, Del.” Iden said, as she clenched her fists and continued walking. But Del’s eyes widened from behind her when he saw the man reach-

It was over in a blur. Iden turned around because of the whiff of air that she’d felt, and saw Del holding the man down with his only injury being a split lip.

“How about you go on your way and quit harassing people, or next time I’ll let her break your kneecaps.”

“I doubt she could-“

Del pushed on something, somewhere, and then the man was on the ground and gasping for breath. Del stepped over him, dusted off his hands, and continued to Iden’s side.

“Kneecaps?” She wondered, a slight smirk on her face.

“More painful than you can imagine.” Del said casually, then his face contorted into an odd shape and he leaned away to spit a mouthful of blood against the corner of a building.

“Let me see.” Iden insisted, and gently pulled back Del’s lip with her thumb. Del tried to hide his reaction but it stunned him, how soft her hands were on part of his body.

She checked that all of his teeth were there, and his tongue was intact, and nothing was loose. “It’ll just bleed for awhile.”

“I know. I get them all the time.” Del said. “I never understood the logic of making stormtrooper helmets bigger than our actual heads because they end in a lot of split lips and broken noses.” He spat again, in that slightly impressive yet still gross way that men did. “Not to mention you can hardly see anything.”

“Thanks for the help, I guess.” She said. “Though I probably could have broken his kneecaps without you.”

“I saw him reaching for your hair, but my instincts screamed he was going for the neck. I’ll be sure to let you get choked out next time.”

She rolled her eyes, and turned her braid into a bun in the base of her head. Del watched her. “Does it meet military standards?”

“I don’t know. It’s been a hot minute since I put my hair up.”

Iden had to turn away to blush a bit, because she was almost positive Del was flirting with her, or maybe she was flirting with him, or who really knew.

“Let’s keep going so we can get home by dinner.”

Yes, Del was certainly flirting with her, Iden decided. He walked as if to protect her for the rest of the day even as he was continually spitting out blood and actually gripped her arm a few times to stop her from running into somebody else. By the end of the day, he had likely saved her from a dozen different injuries and entanglements she usually got into when she was alone.

“Where does this money even come from?” Del wondered when they sat down for a meal.

“My father may be a jerk, but he’s a rich jerk.” Iden waved a credit in her hand. “Imperial credits go a long way in a place like Svaaha.”

“Child support, then?”

Iden nodded. “Even though it stopped when I turned eighteen we still have a lot of it banked up. Might get me into a decent college one day. I don’t know.”

“I do think it’s really nice, what you’re doing for your mother.” Del said. “Not a lot of people would do that, I think. Most would want to go off and be on their own.”

“You sound like that’s what you did.” Iden said.

“Don’t get me wrong.”Del raised his hands defensively. “I love my parents. Both of them, but I just couldn’t stay in the house any longer. I left with my twin brother as soon as we could and followed our older brother into service.”

“Do you regret it?” Iden asked, cocking her head.

Del looked around as if nervous. “At the risk of my life, sometimes I do, yes. War really made me realize that.” His eyes met hers. “What about you? Do you regret anything, Iden?”

“Not really.” Iden lied. “Except for letting my mother get sick.”

“That couldn’t have been your fault.”

“Yeah, well, you know how it goes.” Iden folded her hands onto the table. “Del, can I be honest with you for a second?”

“Yes?”

“What are you doing?”

Whatever he had been expecting, it wasn’t that. “What… what do you mean?”

“I’m having a hard time deciding if you are a gentleman or trying to win over my favor. I’ve had guys chase after me before, so I’m not totally stupid.”

“No, of course you aren’t.” Del said. “But you are really nice, and… one of the first friends I’ve made in awhile. They don’t really care for those in the Empire. I’m sorry if I ever came of as anything weird.”

“No you didn’t. I.. I kind of like it.” Iden admitted with a shy smile. But what if he knew?

Forget it. Del doesn’t know about your father and cares about you. All the others chased after you because you’re a Versio, not because they like who Iden is.

“You do?” He asked, eyes lighting up a bit. He looked kind of cute, and Iden momentarily forgot he was a decade older than her.

“I mean, it’s been two weeks since you seemingly appeared out of nowhere like a gift from the sky or whatever, and I don’t know if I want to let you go back. You’ve been a friend to me, too, Del.” Iden bit her lip and looked down at her hands in her lap.

“Well, if I’m a gift from the sky,then you're an angel.”

Her head shot back up. “What?”

He grinned, his cheeks flush. “You heard me.” And he took her finished plate and stacked it above his and walked off to give it back to be washed. As he went off, Iden grinned to herself and knew that she, too, was blushing.

Yes, Del was definitely flirting with her.

And what are you going to do about that, Iden? She asked herself.

“I don’t know.”She said aloud and quietly to herself, just before Del sat back down. She smiled at him, pleasantly. “Let’s go home, Del.”

“Sure.” He smiled, and she led the way back to the speeder.


	3. Chapter 3

They got home a little later than Iden would have liked, her mother was already asleep and the sky was getting dark. Del immediately beelined for Iden’s room and began to move things around.

“What are you doing?” Iden demanded. 

“Being a gentleman and giving you your room back.” Del said, “so you can move your blankets back in here. I’m sleeping on the floor and there’s nothing you can do about it.” 

“Hmph. Fine.” Iden moved past him and back to her mother’s room to carefully take her blankets back. Del had set up his pallet, assuring her that the floor wasn’t the worst place he had slept, by far, and then she told him to come outside with her.

“I don’t think you’ve seen a proper Svaahi sunset yet.” Iden said, beckoning him out onto the grass of the backyard. Del looked around and gasped softly. No, he really hadn’t seen one yet, given that a Svaahi day was longer than 24 hours and humans slept several times between sunsets. 

“I’ve never seen…” He whispered, “I’ve never really seen a sunset.”

“You haven’t?” Iden hipped her head around and looked at him incredulously. 

“I lived on Coruscant. There weren’t sunsets, and you’d have to artificially dim the lights for yourself when you wanted to sleep. There was nothing natural about it. And anywhere else I went, I didn’t take care to appreciate the sunset when it did come.” 

Iden patted the ground next to her. It rarely rained on Svaaha, and the air was always too warm for bugs. Del gaped for a few more moments, then joined her. 

Iden felt herself instinctively moving closer to him. His body radiated heat, and her eyes moved towards his abs where his wound was. 

“I actually took the bacta patch off earlier.”Del answered her unspoken question. “It has been green for long enough, and it’s not interfering with my stretching or moving.”

“I’m glad that you’ve healed up.” Iden said. “But that means you’ll be going soon.”

“Iden.” He said, softly, and Iden saw his Adam’s apple bob in his throat. “I need to go back. I can’t do this anymore.” 

“Why, Del?” Iden asked. “What if you get hurt again, and there’s nobody to save you?” _If_ I’m _not around to save you._

“If I don’t go back they’ll execute me... and you, for harboring a deserter. I need to go back. I’m sorry. I got the commlink working the other day and called in. I’m headed back tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Iden squeaked. “Del, no. _Please_.”

“Why do you want me to stay so badly?” He asked, and Iden bit her lip, too afraid to answer truthfully. 

“Because I… I’ll miss you terribly.” 

“We can still talk sometimes.” Del said. “You have a datapad, right?”

She nodded. 

“And here.”Del handed her the commlink. “Bring it to me and I’ll go ahead and send myself a message for when I get back to mine. That’s how you can know I’m safe.” 

“Okay.” Iden stood up reluctantly and disappeared into the house. Yes, she had a datapad, but she rarely used it. 

It looked like that was about to change.

When she came back, Del was lying on his back, with a hand under his head. She crept back up to him. 

“Del?”

“Hmm?”

“I…. I want to kiss you.”

He sighed, and rose up onto his elbows. “If you do that, I really won’t leave.”

“ _Please_?”

It was almost a whisper. She was leaning close to him, and both of their hearts were racing. Del reached for her face, and placed a kiss to her forehead, cupping her cheek and smoothing out her hair. “Ask me once we see each other again.”

“Del?”

“Hmm?”

“Hold me. Please.” 

He obliged, turning on his side and gently combing through her hair with his fingers so that she sighed. 

“I’ll come back some day.” He promised. “When I’m an accomplished engineer with a title and money, I’ll come back and you and your mother can move in with _me,_ instead. How does that sound?”

“That actually sounds really nice.” Iden said, and curled up against him. Del gently kissed her hair. 

“I guess I didn’t need to worry about giving you your bed back.” He said softly. 

“I’m fine right here. The grass is soft.” 

“ _You’re_ soft.” Del said. “And you’re so much more beautiful than any sunset.” 

She blushed, and snuggled closer to him. Del sighed and laid his head onto her chest, and she wound her legs around his. And there, under the late and rare Svaahi sunset, they fell asleep. 

* * *

“Be careful, Del.”Iden reminded him, gripping his shoulders. He was dressed again in most of his stormtrooper armor and it unnerved her just a bit. She would never be able to look at the Empire’s soldiers the same way again.

"I will.” He said, for the umpteenth time. As his shuttle landed, he placed his helmet on his head, hiding his face from her.

“If this is how we leave, then.” Iden stood on her toes and kissed him through his helmet. Del startled a bit, and she could see a few stormtroopers in the shuttle nudging each other. They must know Del, then, or, excuse her, _TK-626._ “Make sure you come back.”

“Make sure I have a nice hot bowl of stew to come back to, and I’ll think about it.” He said, his voice seeming so distorted and _ugly_ behind the helmet. 

Then he turned his back on her and climbed into the shuttle.

Iden watched it leave long after it had disappeared, and could only hope and pray that he got back to wherever it was safely. 

Not two hours later, she got a message from Del. 

_I’m back._ She read. _Told you I would be fine!_

Then: _Great news:! I came home and almost immediately received my signed discharge papers, now I’m being shown around a Star Destroyer! I’d never been in this part of it before…_

She could almost see the boyish enthusiasm on his face as he typed. 

_I’m happy for you, Del._ She typed back. _What does that mean for your free time?_

 _It means I actually have it now, for one thing._ Again, he was joking and Iden appreciated it. _But I’m actually not quite an engineer yet, even if I’ve been promoted to Lieutenant. I have to spend some time as a pilot. Shouldn’t be that hard. I’m good with my hands._

She blushed at that, for some reason, and then continued to talk with him for what seemed like hours. Because of their time difference, Iden actually fell asleep with her datapad in her lap, and on the other side of the galaxy, Del also clicked his off, assuming that she would send him a new message when she woke up.

He had gotten himself to a proper medcenter which evaluated his wound and found nothing wrong with how it had been treated. Del was impressed all over again by the handiwork of Iden and her mother. Speaking of which, he felt it a little odd that he had gotten so close to Iden, and she had never mentioned her surname. Maybe it just wasn’t part of her culture. Del shrugged it off.

 _All pilots, report to the hangar!_ Blared an instructor over the loudspeaker. In sync, Del and several other men and women rushed that way. 

He didn’t get back from training for several hours, and when he did, he collapsed onto his bed, even though Iden had a message waiting for him.

* * *

As the months went on, it became a sort of joke between Iden and her mother. Zeehay would ask about their “knight in stormtrooper armor” like Iden was still a child and Iden would respond with whatever news she had. 

Of course, not all of it she shared, some of it was private and for Iden alone to see as Del tried to make sense of something that upset him, or if he was saying sweet words to her. But most anything else she shared with her mother, like when Del was promoted to Captain, and then Lieutenant Commander, which allowed him to retire from the Corps and claim his promised position of engineer.

 _I’m on a Star Destroyer called_ The Implacable, _and its Admiral seems pretty nice. So are the other engineers._

 _That’s great, Del._ Iden always enjoyed it when Del seemed half his age. _You got what you wanted._

_Yeah, it’s hard to get hurt when you’re behind the scenes all the time.In fact, I’m more likely to get blown up without warning than shot._

That did not do anything to reassure Iden. _And what about you?_ He sent.

_Oh, you know- same old as always. Nothing new in the past year. Except we’re all a bit older and mama’s gotten sicker._

_You know, now that I’m a bit more free I may be able to visit some time._

_Yeah, she would like that. Maybe you can come over a last time and see her._

Above Coruscant, Del pursed his lips. _You really think… you really think it’s getting to be that time?_

_I don’t know how to say goodbye._

_I’ll… I’ll try to make it over as soon as I can. But, no promises._

Iden knew what that meant: _Don’t get your hopes up._ She’d heard it so many times before from her mother when something was unlikely to happen. But she wasn’t upset. She could wait a little longer until she saw Del face to face again, however it may be.


	4. Chapter 4

**0 BBY-3 Years Later**

_Del?_

_Del, why aren’t you answering?_

_It’s been a week since I heard about Scarif and the Death Star. What happened?_

_Del?_

_Del, please. I need you to respond. I’m scared._

_Del?_

_Del?_

Every morning, Iden checked her datapad to see if Del had answered her. Every morning, she was disappointed. She left the ringer on to hear in any part of the house, but it never went off.

“Have you heard from him, yet?” Zeehay asked, and every week Iden had to shake her head. Her mother, even after bouncing back from her disease, was now so sick she was bedridden, and it seemed to Iden that everything that could go wrong in the universe was. Del was…. gone. Her mother seemed to be days away from dying and…

“I haven’t.” Iden said. “I think…. I think he’s dead, mama.”

“No.” Zeehay breathed, “No Iden, you have to have faith.”

“Mama, it’s been too long.” Iden admitted. “It’s been two months. He wouldn’t ignore me for that long unless he-“ Iden couldn’t say it, but she gripped her mother’s hand hard.

“I saw the way he looked at you.” Zeehay murmured. “It’s the way a man looks at a woman who he really and truly loves.” Her head turned to regard Iden. “Your father never looked at me like that.”

“Oh, mama-“

“I thought Del was going to come back someday and marry you. You two were always talking and who knows what else over those datapads and-“ Zeehay paused to cough. “If he hadn’t left, I may be seeing a grandchild by now.”

Iden blushed a bit, sadly. “I think you’re right. I think he’ll come back.”

“You’re lucky with him, Iden. Not like I was with your father. I was forced to marry him, you know. It was just the culture. And I know I would never do that to you.” One of her hands went up to Iden’s cheek.

“I know, mama. I love you for that. I love you anyways.”

“My greatest wish for you is that someday, when I’m gone, you’ll still manage to have some kind of relationship with your father. Because if I’m gone, then it’ll be better for you.”

“I don’t want that.” Iden sniffed.

“Then find Del.” Zeehay suggested instead. Iden gave a bitter laugh.

“That’s impossible.”

Zeehay sighed in an “I know what I said” manner, and Iden found enough strength in her to dry her tears and be strong. She stood up from where she was sitting by her mother. Her mother. Her beautiful mother, who Iden loved more than life itself, lay frail and dying. “I’m going to make dinner, mama.”

“Don’t bother making me any, Iden.”

“But you need to stay strong.”Iden tried to argue, but her mother just sighed.

“Don’t worry about me.”

But Iden did. She still fixed two bowls, and like she always had she gave more to her mother, even if she was refusing to eat.

“Mama, please. For me?”

“There is so much in this universe that I would do for you, that I wish I could have done for you.” Zeehay said, and shut her eyes and turned away. Defeated, Iden ate both of the bowls herself, because wallowing in depression reinforced her appetite for some reason. When she was finished, she sat on the ground beside her mother’s head, leaning onto her own folded arms as a pillow and taking hold of her mother’s hand.

“I love you, Iden.” Zeehay whispered, looking at Iden one last time before she closed her eyes to sleep.

By morning, Iden realized that her mother hadn’t moved. She no longer breathed.

Iden remembered someone, -her father, possibly- scolding her for showing emotion. _No, Iden. Versios don’t cry._

But grief consumed her, and she did cry.

Her mother wasn’t even fifty years old.

* * *

“I will be leaving for a few days.” Admiral Garrick Versio informed the room. It contained only a few people: his assistant, Jha Eka, and three highly trained, highly qualified members of his Inferno Squad: Commander Gideon Hask, the leader, Agent Del Meeko, the engineer and pilot, and lastly, Agent Seyn Marana, from Naval Intelligence. “I have some personal matters to attend to.”

“Understood, sir.” Hask replied.

“You did great work infiltrating the Dreamer base, and investigating the Moff’s blackmailing was a walk in the park. A welcome distraction after the unfortunate loss of Lieutenant Tyso.”

The youngest member, Marana, looked down a bit in shame. Clearly, she was still overwhelmed, and Versio was grimly hoping her attitude would improve. If it weren’t for her value to the team, she would have already been dismissed because of her meekness. Similarly, Meeko also seemed distressed, but he had been for a long time, and it had not interfered with his performance under fire.

“In my absence, your orders are to rest up, whatever that may mean. When I return, you will be assigned security details for my,” Versio briefly coughed. “For my daughter.”

The team exchanged glances. Meeko and Marana hadn’t realized Versio had a daughter. And if she needed a security detail, she must have been fairly young, even if Versio himself seemed to be advanced in years.

“Sir?” Hask ventured.

“One of you will be stationed at my suite at all times, another outside her door. I have no doubt that she will become a target once her presence is realized.”

“Sir? Might we know her name?” Marana asked.

“In due time. I don’t wish her identity to be compromised yet. The last thing we need is someone to plan a sabotage on her homecoming.”

“Yes, sir.”

Meeko was still quiet. Then again, he had always been fairly taciturn when Versio had seen him.

“You are all dismissed.” He concluded the meeting.

“Well, you heard the Admiral, let’s all rest up.” Hask told Meeko and Marana.

“We may be the Admiral’s right hand but, don’t you think we’re a little overqualified to be babysitting a spoiled brat?” Marana asked, and both Hask and Meeko turned to look at her, startled at her change in character.

“Hey now, show some respect.” Hask said.

“She may not be that much younger than you are, Seyn.” Del added, but he meant it as more of a joke.

“It will be nice to have another girl around.” Seyn supposed, thinking still of the late Tyso. The older woman had taken the blame when it had truly been Seyn’s actions that deserved death. Now, she could never repay her, and she could never stop seeing the woman’s face as Hask killed her.

“But we’re not doing this for the fun. It’s a job, same as anything else.”

Not amused by his attitude, Meeko and Marana retreated as soon as possible, conversing softly on the couch.

“Do you really think the daughter of an Admiral needs protecting?” Seyn asked Del. “I mean, she’s bound to know how to protect herself already.”

“That doesn’t matter. I mean, my best guess is she’s been with her mother all this time. He had a divorce, after all.” Del said a bit numbly, not paying too much attention.

“I think he is the…. oh.” Seyn said quietly, looking through her datapad. “He’s the ex-husband of acclaimed artist Zeehay Versio.”

Del’s head turned so quickly she actually got scared. “What? Did you say Zeehay?”

“Zeehay Versio.” Seyn repeated, displaying the woman’s face on the datapad.

“Oh, kriff.” Del muttered.

Del's reaction only piqued Seyn’s interest further. “What’s wrong, Del? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I- I’ve seen her before. I-“ Del cursed again. “ S-she was the one who took care of me on Svaaha! Her and her daughter Iden!”

“Yeah, that’s their daughter’s name.” The most recent picture was still from Iden’s childhood; a girl no older than five years old holding tightly to a younger, healthier Zeehay.

“Oh, no.” Del murmured.

“What is it?” Seyn was nearly bouncing with excitement. She could tell something was going on.

“You know the girlfriend you and Hask liked to tease me about, whose contact I lost and am pretty sure thinks I’ve ghosted her?” Del’s face turned sheepish, into an expression Seyn could read pretty well.

Seyn’s eyes went wide. “No way, Del. No way-“

“Yes way!” He cringed. “Here I was thinking this was going to be easy. And if her mother has died…” Del leaned forward and put his head in his hands. “I promised Iden I would make it back before that happened.”

“Oh, well, it looks like you’ll be seeing a lot more of her.”

“I guess so.” Del said. “Though it’s been months. I doubt she’ll be happy to see me.”

“I may not have ever been in a relationship, but I am a woman, Del. She’ll be happy. I can even find a way to cover for you.” Seyn winked a bit, and Del found himself blushing.

“Well, you may be right. And I may end up taking you up on that offer.”

“On what offer?” Hask asked, coming up behind them.

“Admiral Versio’s daughter is Del’s girlfriend!” Seyn chirped, and Hask choked a bit on his drink.

“She is?”

“No, she’s not.” Del glared at Seyn a bit. “She just… she took good care of me while I was healing on Svaaha.”

“Good care of you, huh?” Hask raised an eyebrow, but Del could tell he was trying to hide something. Then he realized what words he had used.

“You two keep quiet, I don’t want to be court-martialed.”

“It may be a bit late for that.” Hask pointed out. “Does the Admiral know?”

“No. And I’d like to keep it that way. Even Iden doesn’t know that I’m with this squad, I lost contact with her before that.” Del stood up, suddenly feeling as if the apartment was too small for the three of them. “I need some time to myself for a while.”

Seyn shrugged it off, but Hask watched him go with an odd expression on his face. He had known about Versio’s daughter, even met her a few times when she was there for the limited weeks out of the year Versio spent with her. And, if Hask was reading the signals right, the Admiral seemed rather keen on the idea of Hask and Iden getting together.

The Admiral definitely didn’t know about Del, then.

Someone was going to have to tell him.

* * *

Seyn offered to find Iden’s contact for Del after the revelation, but he had declined, and two days later he and the rest of Inferno Squad stood at attention on the landing pad as Admiral Versio’s shuttle landed. Del was nervous, there was no hiding it, and he wished that he had his helmet to hide his face.

Iden had no reason to be happy to see him. Not after essentially being ghosted for months.

_It wasn’t my fault. Del told himself. It’s not my fault and-_

His breath still caught in his throat when he saw her. His Iden, looking so different in normal clothes: an impressive yet modest knee-length dress instead of the homespun one, but her hair was still in that braid.

She blinked into the bright light of Coruscant, holding onto her father’s arm in a way that was clear she didn’t want to, but also needed it to stay on her feet and know where she was going.

And then they came walking towards Del. Seyn had a slight smile on her face and probably would have nudged Del if they weren’t burdened by protocol.

“Iden, this will be your new security detail that I told you about.” Versio introduced.

“Inferno Squad.” Iden still squinted against the sunlight as she greeted them. It was obvious she had been coached on her words, and it was odd to see Iden struggling to speak. “Agent Marana, Agent Meeko.”

“Welcome to Coruscant, ma’am!” Seyn chirped, in a way that still fit the situation.

“Thank you, Agent.” Iden smiled slightly and Del felt his knees go a bit weak, but locked them in place to stay upright. He missed seeing her smile. He wanted to _be_ the reason that she smiled.

“And Commander Hask. Hello again.”

 _Again_? Del wanted to demand, but held his tongue. _It’s been months, Del_. He reminded himself. _She’s probably moved on._

“Welcome home, ma’am.” Hask said, stoic.

“Coruscant will never be my home.” Iden said right back, and Hask’s expression wavered just a bit, and his eyebrows narrowed. He was annoyed that she had the audacity to talk to him like that.

“Let’s go inside, Iden.” Versio urged, beginning to lead her indoors. Inferno Squad followed.

“Who’s taking first watch, then?” Del asked, trying to keep it causal.

“I thought you would.” Seyn said, but then Hask interrupted.

“No way. I’m doing it.”

Del knew better than to argue. Besides, if he took the next shift, that would land him at Iden’s door around dinnertime. That seemed reasonable, and may give him the chance to talk with her.

_Oh, Iden. Why did you lie to me? Why did you never tell me who you were?_

Or maybe Del was at fault. He should have connected the dots. He should have remembered that Iden was the name of the Admiral’s daughter, not just a coincidence.

He had so many burning questions, and so many things he wanted to say to her. And her tone, earlier at the landing pad- she wasn’t mad.

The next several hours were the longest of Del’s life as he waited to stand guard. He was assigned to the main entrance of the Admiral’s massive dwelling, waiting his turn to be outside Iden’s door.

And then, at dinnertime, it was time to change shifts.

Del assumed his position outside Iden’s portion of the dwelling. She had a wing all to herself, with her own bedroom, sitting room, and even a kitchen.

And to Iden, it was incredibly overwhelming. She felt the opposite of trapped, guilty for lying on the bed that was almost as big as her old bedroom on its own, asking the droid to cook for her- and this security detail?

 _Well, it isn’t all bad,_ she reminded herself. _Sooner or later, Del will be outside your door and you can talk to him after…. Three years._

Outside her main door, Iden heard shuffling and two accented male voices, and then receding footsteps. If Hask had been there before, then the only other person it could be was-

She slid the door open. Del had been leaning on it slightly, and quickly straightened. They regarded each other for a moment. Iden looked into the same green, smiling eyes, Del looked at her big, beautiful brown eyes.

“Are you hungry, Agent Meeko?” She asked, abruptly.

“Um.” Del shifted his shoulders, looking around a moment, taking a hand off of his blaster. “I-“

“For kriff’s sake, Del.”

With surprising strength, Iden pulled Del into the room by the front of his chestplate, and then he had dropped his blaster as quietly as he could in order to put his arms around her. He buried his face on the top of her head, breathing in the same scent from years ago, closing his eyes and savoring it.

“I thought you were dead.” Iden whispered into his shoulder. “Why didn’t you answer me, Del?”

“I lost the datapad with your contact on it. It was sudden, Iden, and I’m so sorry I hadn’t thought to memorize it or something. I’m so sorry, I-“ He pulled back and looked into her eyes. “I’m so sorry.” He repeated once more. “Can you forgive me?”

She nodded, face pressed up against his shoulder. “Can’t you take that off?” She complained, referring to his chestplate.

Even with a jumpsuit on underneath, Del’s heart skipped a beat. “Technically, I’m on duty.”

“Considering I never asked for armed protection…” Iden unclipped the chestplate and it, too, fell to the ground, and then she was hugging him again.

“Oh, Iden.” Del repeated. “Why didn’t you ever tell me that you were Admiral Versio’s daughter?”

“Because I don’t like being his daughter. I don’t want to be here, Del.” Iden said, tears gathering in her eyes. “But my mother… her dying wish was for me to come here with my father. And she also wanted me to find you, but I thought- I thought you were dead and I-“

“Iden, you’re rambling.”

“I’m sorry!” She exclaimed. “I’m so pent up, Del! I don’t know what to feel and I certainly don’t know what to do with all this room.”

“Well, are _you_ hungry?” He asked.

“I want to take a walk.” She answered. “I’m still on Svaahi time, I should be finishing up my chores right about now.” She blew out her cheeks. “But I’ll never have to worry about those again, will I?”

“No.” Del agreed. “If you want to take that walk, though, I can escort you. I would have to, actually.”

“I’d rather you than Hask.” Iden said, pulling on a jacket as Del hooked his chestplate back on and checked his weapon.

“Is there somewhere we can go here on Coruscant? Like the backyard on Svaaha?”

“I can think of a place. It’s built in to this complex, so it’s not far.”

“Great.”

When they exited into the hall, Seyn straightened and regarded them inquisitively. “Where are you going?”

“I’m taking a walk.” Iden said. “And I thought one of you had to escort me at all times?”

Seyn blinked. “Of course.” Then she went back to whatever she was doing.

“How old is she?” Iden whisper-asked Del as they got onto the lift.

“You know, I’m not even sure.” He admitted. “How do you know Hask?”

“Well, let’s just say my father has been trying to get me to… show interest in him for a long time. I hope he hasn’t gotten impatient.”

An odd emotion stirred inside Del. He was about to say something, but then Iden asked. “Are there cameras in this lift?”

“No.”

“Good.” Iden said, and slapped him across the face.

Del cringed, but it hurt more emotionally than physically. He totally deserved that, for leaving her alone. Even if he’d apologized, and even if she’d accepted.

“That’s for leaving me alone for so long.” Iden declared, and Del was about to say something when Iden stood on her toes and kissed him.

Del melted into the kiss, even if it was sudden and frankly quite sloppy, and he knew he could be court-martialed for this, but-

She stepped away from him when the lift stopped moving. Del looked wistfully into her eyes, and saw the answer there.

“You didn’t really want to take a walk.” He realized.

“I just wanted to make sure that we got far away.” Iden agreed. “How long until your next shift change?”

“We switch every 8 hours, so one of us sleeps while the other two watch.” Del explained, having to work to remember how to talk.

“We can work with that.” Iden decided, breathless. “I’ve wanted to talk to you, really talk to you, for so long.”

Del gestured to a bench in the middle of the artificial park. “Start talking.”


	5. Chapter 5

As time went on, it became obvious Iden didn’t need a guard with her at all times. Admiral Versio had just been overbearing.

Iden became close with Seyn, to the point they were informally using first names together, and she was getting even closer to Del. But as the war progressed, so did the severity of Inferno’s missions. Iden was constantly begging Del to look after Seyn, because the girl always seemed too young to be fighting in a war.

Iden didn’t always know when they would return. Or even _if_ they would return. And her father was much too casual about it.

“Where are they now?” She asked innocently. 

“Iden, you know I can’t tell you that.” Her father said, a bit patronizing. 

“And why not? I’m your daughter, aren’t I? And those are my friends.”

“Versios don’t have _friends,_ we have _allies.”_ Her father reminded her, and Iden felt like rolling her eyes.

“Maybe _you_ don’t, but _I’ve_ made friends.” She said, taking a sip of her drink. On Svaaha, she hadn’t had anything to drink but tea and water. Now, she had a new spirit at almost every meal, and most of them were okay. Sometimes, like now, it burned her throat and she coughed.

“Your mother didn’t have much of a liking for alcohol either.”Her father said dryly, watching her like he always did. Iden knew she reminded him so much of Zeehay, not just because of her looks,and Iden was silently waiting for the day that he would snap at her like he did her mother. But for some reason, it never happened.

“Please don’t talk about mama.” She said, pushing her glass away. “Just cut to the chase, dad. I know you only have dinner with me for a reason.”

_And it’s usually for your own benefit._

Usually it was to remind her that if she had only lived with him _she_ would likely be the one leading missions and getting all the glory that Commander Hask was. 

This time was no different.

“I don’t want to lead missions.” Iden complained. “ I don’t _want_ to be a Commander. I want to go _home.”_

“The Empire is your home.” He insisted. 

“Not yet.” Iden wanted to excuse herself, but her father reached out and took her arm. 

“I wasn’t finished.” 

Iden bit her lip and sat back down. Her father sat a bit taller and leaned forward, folding his hands. “Iden, you know that you are my only child. And I have responsibilities to the Empire. Which means that _you_ have responsibilities to the Empire as well.”

Iden did not like where this was heading. 

“You have already told me you don’t want to enlist. And as much as I know that you think the worst of me, the last thing I want to see is harm coming to you.”

“Thanks.” Iden rolled her eyes as she took a drink of water. 

“You are twenty-four years old-“

“Twenty-five.” Iden corrected. “My birthday was last week.”

“Oh.” Versio looked a bit surprised, but Iden wasn’t too offended. Seyn and Hask had each gotten her something, and as for Del… they had snuck out for a night together, the best present Iden could have asked for. “You are twenty-five years old. It’s time you began thinking about marriage.”

At that, Iden spit her water and began to laugh. “Really?”

But her father was deadly serious. “A few young men hae expressed interest in your hand. What do you think of Commander Hask?”

“I try not to…”Iden murmured. 

“Why not?” Admiral Versio inquired. “He is a respectable man of the Empire. He would be more than capable of caring for you.”

“That’s supposed to be your job, dad. Not to just hand me off to the highest bidder, or whoever it is you choose.”

“I have known Hask since he was a young boy-“

“I know, I know. He was the son you always wanted.”

Her father’s eyebrows narrowed. “Every Versio heir for generations has been a son. Until you, Iden-”

“And whose fault is that?” Iden’s attitude became worse and worse when she was angry, and her father definitely noticed, so he let her win. At least, for now. His daughter could be almost as stubborn as he was.

“At least give me a reason.”

“I’d just like to choose my own husband, thank you very much.” Iden crossed her arms and turned away. “Can I go now?”

Her father gestured with his hand towards the door, and Iden nearly ran for it. She had done well covering it up, but she was so angry she could _scream._ This was exactly what she knew what would happen, and her mother had even warned her. Iden knew her father wouldn’t respect even Zeehay’s dying wishes, and so she was stuck.

Del had added a button on her commlink, a special button that meant she would be talking to him only. If she pressed it and he was free, he would answer. 

She sat down against the headboard of the bed and pressed it. “Del?”

Silence, then, “Sorry, hold on a moment-” There was a bit of shuffling around, and then Del was back. “I’ve got time. Hask and Seyn are planetside, but they left me on the _Corvus_. As usual…”If Del was annoyed he hid it well. 

“At least I know you’re safe, if you’re just the getaway pilot.”

“Hey! Technically, Caton is the getaway pilot, I’m important! I look at… maps.”

“Okay, whatever, Del.”Iden smiled on her end, looking down to hide a bit of a giggle. Then her face turned serious. “Del… did you know that Hask asked to marry me?”

“He _what?!”_ Del exclaimed, and she could imagine his fists clenching. 

“Well, he didn’t even really ask _me,_ he asked my father. Because apparently, _my_ opinion about _my_ marriage doesn’t matter.”

“Bantha crap.” Del said. “Of course it matters! I just- I didn’t think Hask was _interested_ in you? Could your father be lying?”

“Maybe.”Iden shrugged. “I don’t know, I wouldn’t put it beneath him.”

“I could ask Hask. Or mention it. I do suspect he’s known about us and he doesn’t seem too happy about it, but I didn’t think it was because he wanted to _marry_ you. That’s…”He paused a moment and then he whispered. “ _I_ want to do that.”

“You- you do?” It wasn’t a total surprise, but Iden still blushed. 

“I’ll find out what it means, Iden. Don’t stress about it.”

Iden actually snorted. _Don’t stress about the fact that you may be forced to marry a psychopath._ But if anyone were to figure it out, it would be Del. 

“Okay.” She decided. “I’ll see you when you get back.” 

“You, too.” 

Del hung up and Iden had to hide her face. She was so stressed, and worried, and she did _not_ want this to happen. She wanted to be with _Del,_ not anybody else in the whole galaxy. 

Her father had blown off her refusal. But, if anybody pressed the matter she would just continue to do so.

She sent Del a coded message on her datapad next, telling him when her father would be gone next and they could talk face to face.

* * *

Inferno Squad’s missions were so secretive that Iden didn’t always know when they were heading back, and from where. Del had told her it often surprised people as they would appear out of nowhere.

And that’s why Del's homecoming was always a surprise for her. One she was still excited for, even if she were expecting it.

Tonight, he came through her door without much preamble, slipping in late enough that nobody was paying attention but early enough that he knew Iden was still awake. 

She ran up to him before he ever got his chestplate off, and tore his belt off as he kissed her, slow and deliberate and she _melted_ into him, as usual. 

“I don’t know what to do, Del.” She said, as he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. “I don’t know what to do or say or think. I’m lost.”

He smelled of sweat, and engines, and a bit of cologne, but she savored it anyway. 

“Let me get cleaned up. I feel atrocious.” He said, and Iden let him go, kissing him one last time. Del disappeared into the ‘fresher.

Iden picked up the odd bits and pieces of his armor. She didn’t see the point of it, because it wasn’t protective like the stormtroopers she was still unnerved by. 

His shower was quick and over in a typical fast, military fashion. He came back out having changed into casual clothes, ones that Iden recognized from Svaaha.

“Oh, Del.” She breathed. “You’ve kept them.”

“They’re soft.” Del shrugged, looking down at his plain pants and shirt with a low, stretched out neckline that showed off the muscles of his chest and shoulders. “And your mother made them for me with that package you sent me, remember?”

Iden stepped forward, wrapping her arms around him again. “I love you so much, Del.”

“I love you too, Iden.” He responded. “And I promise we’re going to figure something out.” 

“It won’t matter if I love you or not, Del. Not to my father.” Iden drew back and began walking for the window. “He’ll ship me back to Vardos. He’ll reassign you. You’ll be court-martialed.”

“Not if I ask for your hand, too.” Del said. “Toss my hat into the ring. Just another man who wants to marry you.”

“Del, that’s ridiculous, my father would never-“

“What’s he going to do? Tell me no?”

“Yes!”

“What do I have that Hask doesn’t? I’m ranked just as much as he is, have more commendations than him. Your father can’t argue with that.” He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her neck. 

“Del, can you stay tonight? My father’s gone.” 

“Hmm?” His lips drifted to her collarbone, and she moaned a bit. 

“Hask doesn’t actually want to marry you.” He whispered. “I asked him. He didn’t know anything about it.”

“Hmm? Really?”

“ _I_ love you, Iden.” Del murmured. His hands slid up the front of her shirt, the rough pads of his fingers tickling her skin. “ _I_ love you, like nobody else does.”

“I know, Del.” She whispered,breathless. He spun her around and let her push him to the bed, where they kissed deeply. Iden’s hands slid up Del’s chest under his shirt, and she could feel the area where his wound had been.

There was almost no evidence of it. 

Del sighed, feeling her hands on his skin, causing his muscles to tremble and relax under her fingers. Iden gasped softly as his hands tangled in her hair and he pulled her close, holding her like that night on Svaaha. 

* * *

“You lied!” Iden screamed at her father. “I don’t know why you did it but you _did!”_

“You needed a reality check.” Versio said, cutting casually into his breakfast pastry. Iden had rushed in the morning he returned and now she had a bone to pick. 

“Now Hask is going to be after me whether he wants to marry me or not! He’s going to think that I’m interested in him when I’m not.”

“You may not get a choice in the matter, Iden.”

“Mama wouldn’t want this.”Iden told him, looking straight into her father’s cold eyes. “But that doesn’t matter to you, does it?”

“Iden, I can’t argue about this now. There is an ongoing battle on Ja-Bess, and our troops seem to be in need of backup. I’m sending Inferno Squad to finish the job.”

Was that…secret information her father was handing out? Or was he just that out of focus? Or maybe, it was even payback for being a jerk. Iden couldn’t tell. She knew for sure it wasn’t that her father trusted her all of the sudden. That wasn’t possible.

“Promise me you won’t do anything.” Iden begged of her father. 

He just gave her a look, one that meant he would consider it. 

It was the best that Iden would get. 


	6. Chapter 6

The Ja-Bess incursion was rough, but Del refused to admit it. He was beaten, and broken, but it wasn’t anything that a quick trip to the medbay didn’t fix up.

Hask was hurt, too, but he wasn’t the one who had fallen several stories off of the ramp of the _Corvus_ and whose fall had been slowed only by a luckily-placed cover on an outcropping. Del had laid there, for what seemed like hours, gasping for air through a pneumothorax and bruised ribs until Seyn (who he had been on the ramp trying to help on in the first place) found him and dragged him back to the ship using the straps of his chestplate.

“Iden’s going to kill me.”He gasped, and Seyn hurried to his bedside to shush him.

“I doubt that, Del.” She said. “Quit being so dramatic.”

“At least you weren’t hurt.”Del went on. “If you were hurt, she would definitely kill me.”

“I’m a grown woman, Del.”

“Have you let Iden know that?” Del tried to grin, and winced. The surgery to fix his lung had worked, but with all of his broken ribs there was a risk of it happening again until they were allowed to set. “I just hope she’s-”

“Watch out.”Seyn warned, as Hask came in the door.

He grunted when he saw Del awake. “Good. You look better.”

Del couldn’t resist a jab. “You look worse.”

Hask looked very confused, as he did not immediately pick up on Del’s sarcasm. “I’m not that hurt.”

Beside him, Seyn laughed a bit.

“But it worked, right? Our men pulled through?” Del wondered.

“With shining colors. I’m ordering you to rest up, Del, and we’ll get you to the Coruscant medcenter as soon as possible.”

“Yes, sir.” Del murmured, exchanging a glance with Seyn. The young woman had been “in on” Del and Iden’s relationship for the longest time, and usually would serve as a liason or even a guard when it came down to it.

“I’ll go inform the Admiral of our arrival.” She said, and scurried off. Del closed his eyes, ignoring Hask, and thought of how close he was to seeing Iden, soon. Even if she would be distressed at the fact he was hurt, it would be worth it, just to see her.

“I hope you enjoy your dreams, Del.” Hask said. “Because we all know she will never be yours.”

Then the younger man left.

* * *

The Coruscant medcenter evaluated Del and, much like the _Corvus_ ' meddroid, told him to rest up for the time being and changed his bacta patches. He was put in whole sheets of it, almost like a crop top because it only covered his upper chest where the damaged ribs were. At least he could breathe again.

After Del returned to the apartment, Hask wandered off to do who knows what and Seyn claimed she was busy on her own, but a few minutes after that Del’s seeker droid said it had detected a new person in the apartment.

And then Iden was standing in his doorway. Seyn never told the Admiral of their homecoming but informed Iden instead.

“Del…” Iden breathed, walking slowly to his side. Del was momentarily thankful that this wasn’t the _Corvus_ , so they actually had walls around them, and he wasn’t sharing a room with everyone else.

“I’m alright.” He assured her, opening his arms to her and smiling slightly. She leaned over for an awkward hug, and then sat on the bed beside him.

“What happened?”

“Well-“ Del sat up against his pillows. “I was covering Seyn’s return to the _Corvus_ from the ramp, and as I pulled her up an anti-air cannon hit the _Corvus_. Luckily it was shielded, but it still shook and I was so off balance and focused on getting her up that I fell. Several stories. It’s not that bad.”

She gave him a look, and gently ran her hands over his chest, as he had his shirt off to keep his wound safe.

“Okay… maybe a bit.” He admitted and cringed.

“Del… what have I told you about getting hurt?” Iden asked, leaning forward to kiss him.

“In all fairness, you also told me to protect Seyn.” Del grinned as she kissed him again.

“Right again.” Iden grinned, now.

“Come here.” Del growled, and pulled her forward so that she was sitting in his lap. He was on so many painkillers that his body (well, apart from kissing) wasn’t reacting even to the fact that Iden was in his lap, and he just continued to desperately kiss her.

“You know me, I always come back.” He breathed, when Iden drew back to rest her swollen lips.

“But you always leave, too.”Iden complained, placing her head against his shoulder. Del sensed she had more to say and gently nudged her with a kiss to the neck.

“My father’s been at it again.”

“So has Hask.” Del said, and she groaned.

“I knew this was going to happen! I warned my father to stay out of it, but…”

“Iden.” Del drew her back to look at her. “Do you… do you know how to defend yourself? Shoot a blaster?”

“Well… Yes?”

“You don’t sound confident. I mean, if somebody my size were to come after you, would you be able to defend yourself?”

“Probably not.”She admitted. “You’re huge, Del, bigger than average.”

“Okay, then… what about someone like Hask’s size?”

“Maybe.”

“Iden…”Del kissed her cheek.”We need to work on that.”

“No, you need to rest.”Iden said back. “Seyn offered to show me the ropes. I’ll just work with her.”

“Good.”Del leaned back and closed his eyes. “She let you in, didn’t she?”

“Yeah.”Iden shrugged cheekily. Seyn had become one of the most supportive people when it came to Iden and Del’s not-so-secret relationship and heavily supported it with all the enthusiasm of a younger sister. Unlike Hask and Iden’s father.

Admiral Versio had been smart enough to realize the real reason Iden was proving resistant to his suggestion: she was in love with someone else. He just didn’t know who.

“I’ll go talk to Seyn after a nap.” Iden declared, and settled down right on Del’s chest.

“A nap?” He chuckled. “Right here?”

“Why not?” She said, and he chuckled again and wrapped his arms around her.

* * *

If Hask was unnerved by the fact Iden had stayed in Del’s room -overnight, no less,- he didn’t say anything. It wasn’t forbidden for Iden to stay, as the apartments were private for Inferno Squad and whoever they saw fit to let in.

But he definitely noticed how… unfocused Del had become lately. More jittery and less tactful. Hask respected the man who was five years his senior, but if he was going to stay a member of his team he needed to realize his distractions and work through them.

He realized his chance when Admiral Versio called him in for a general report on his team.

“Commander Hask.” Versio greeted as he stood from behind his desk and returned the salute Hask offered.

“Admiral Versio. You wanted to see me for the report?”

“Yes. Tell me what you’ve noticed outside your regular post-mission assessments.”

“Well, sir.”Ever since we became more mission focused, I’ve noticed the other agents becoming… less focused.”

“How so?”

“Well… Marana will always remember the mission to Jeyosan so I worry about her, but not as I worry about Agent Meeko. He’s been...distracted.”

“By what, do you suppose?”

“By love, I believe, sir.” Hask rocked back and forth on his feet. “It seems to be that Agent Meeko and your daughter Iden spend _a lot_ of time together.”

This was news to Versio. He sat back, perplexed. “You’re sure of this?”

“I’ve seen it with my own eyes, sir. Agent Marana seems to have covered for Agent Meeko on several occasions.”

“I see.”

Now, romantic relationships in the Empire were odd things to discipline. They weren’t illegal, but marriages were often difficult to manage and thus led to divorce, like Versio’s own case, or officers retiring early. But that was only in the case of two working, high profile individuals.

“Thank you, Commander Hask.” Versio said. “I will… take this into consideration.”

“Thank you, sir.” Hask began to walk out, but at the last moment he turned.

“Sir, if I may… does this mean that you will still take me into consideration?”

The Admiral looked at him in a way Hask couldn’t quite interpret. “I’ll remind Iden of it.”

Hask nodded, and let himself out.

* * *

Admiral Versio decided to launch his own investigation about Hask’s concerns. There was an Imperial gala coming up and he was expected to attend, along with Iden. Inferno Squad would be dispersed undercover as other partygoers.

Iden wasn’t happy about it at all. The fancy dress made her uncomfortable, but she chose Del’s favorite color, red, because she also knew it would be his first time seeing her in a “real” dress. He would be wearing his normal dress uniform, with the Lieutenant Commander plate. Because he was technically undercover, nothing on him indicated that he was Inferno Squad, even if some of the attendees would know just from news.

Everybody seemed to know who Hask was. They even seemed to know who _Iden_ was, which surprised her and almost made her a bit uncomfortable. She had all sorts of people coming up to her, introducing themselves. Several young men also seemed to be following her with their eyes. Her dress was in no way meant to be provocative, (Iden had too much of her mother in mind when she picked it), but if men saw bare shoulders or back they tended to stare anyway.

Ironically, the only man who didn’t stare intensely at her was Del, who she knew was actually in love with her. He was watching everyone else from a respectful distance away as Iden lagged around her father.

She didn’t like crowds.

No, she _hated_ crowds. Her palms were sweaty and she felt caged, until someone squeezed her hand and she turned.

“You okay?” Seyn asked. She also was wearing a dress, one she had used before on a mission.

“Yeah, I’m- I’m just a bit nervous. I haven’t ever been around a crowd this big and everyone’s staring at me. Some more than others.”

Seyn smiled sympathetically. “Don’t worry, I’m right here.”

Del noticed Seyn close rank around Iden and relaxed a bit. He couldn’t well go forward and comfort her in the same way that Seyn could. And side by side, they looked like they were related: Seyn’s skin was slightly darker than Iden’s,and her face just a bit more pointed as well. They could definitely pass as sisters. He continued watching them, refusing to drink because at least one of the team needed to be completely sober and he had seen Hask drink a few glasses already.

He went back to scanning the crowd, until his eyes caught something. An odd light- red, out of place.

“Hask.” He said into the comm. “Sniper, mark 53.”

Across the crowded hall, Hask nodded and followed Del’s eyes as the light went across table’s, people’s feet, and landed near the Versios.

Del didn’t think. He ran, telling Seyn to get Iden out of there and also trying to calculate all the possible locations the sniper could be shooting from.

Back inside, Hask moved discreetly through the crowd and to Iden and her father’s side. He took hold of Iden’s arm in order to steer her away from the chaos. Iden was so lost, she didn’t even react. She was just looking up the stairs where Del had run, risking his life without a second thought.

“You need to go help him!” She told Hask. “Seyn’s here. She’ll protect me.”

“I’m sure Del is more than capable of taking care of the situation by himself. My orders are to protect you and your father.”

Iden tried to wrench free of his grip, but he only tightened it. She was obviously terribly uncomfortable but her father did nothing.

“Hask, let me go.”

He didn’t budge.

“You’re _hurting_ me!” He wasn’t, but Hask wasn’t stupid enough to be seen the subject of something like that in public. He let go, and Iden moved as far away from him as she could.

“Commander Hask, stay here and monitor the situation. Agent Marana will take us back to the apartment.”

“Yes, sir.” If there was any sense of begrudging in Hask’s response, he hid it well, but not without a glance Iden’s way as they moved into the turbolift.

“He needs to learn that you don’t get women to love you by staring menacingly at them.” Seyn murmured, in Svaahi, just loud enough for Iden to hear. “He needs to be more like Del.”

Iden smiled at that. Then her smile faded as her father also took her arm. But it wasn’t hard or demanding like it usually was.

He turned Iden’s arm palm up and examined the red area where Hask’s grip had left a mark and frowned disapprovingly at it. “I’ll have to talk to him about that.”

That was it. No, “sorry” or “are you okay?” or “did the man I’m trying to hand you off to hurt you? How dare he!”

But that was fatherhood to the Versio patriarch.

* * *

Del, meanwhile, had made his way to the rooftop he was confident the shooter had come from, and had his blaster out and ready as he scanned the area.

“Dio, scan for life forms,”he commanded quietly, and the droid blipped his findings. “Within the kilometer.”

No life forms around the prescribed location. Dio reported.

“What?” Del squawked and looked through his binocs. Sure enough, the thermal readings came up negative, but when he looked through normal vision he could still see the red light through the window of the building that held the gala. It traced the wall, then when it landed on the turbolift it mysteriously vanished.

“Blast!” Del cursed. “Where is he?”

“Del. Did you find the shooter?” Hask asked.

“No.”Del responded bitterly. “Scans don’t even seem to think there was one.”

“Regroup, then. We should have maximum security on the Admiral and his daughter tonight.”

“Yes, sir.” Del said, and shut off his commlink. When Dio reattached securely to his back, he took the turbolift of the adjacent building down to the floor level and then used a speeder to take him back to the rendezvous coordinates.

He beat Hask by what turned out to be a few minutes, probably due to his heightened knowledge of Coruscanti routes, and his desperation to get to Iden’s side and protect her. Both were possibilities.

Iden was sitting on a couch beside Seyn, and when she saw Del, regardless of her father being right there, she rushed forward and hugged him tightly. Versio raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

Hask ran in just in time to see Iden and Del embrace, and his fists clenched at his sides as jealousy threatened to cause him to do something stupid. But he wisely calmed himself, and straightened to attention. Iden flat out ignored him, and turned to head back to her room. Nobody stopped her, but Hask followed her down the hallway with his eyes and Del felt a sense of protectiveness rise up inside of him for looking at Iden like that. Seyn rose to follow her as her guard, but-

“Wait a moment, Agent Marana.” Versio said, and she nodded and joined the other two members of her squad at attention.

“Agent Meeko, I respect and appreciate your efforts to apprehend the shooter, even if he escaped.”

Del shifted, just a bit, and hardly met his superior’s eyes.

“There was no shooter.”Versio said next, and Hask’s face twisted in confusion. Del didn’t trust himself to react so he looked to Seyn instead.

“Sir?” Hask ventured.

“My daughter was becoming too comfortable here, in this new domain. I needed to remind her that her life is always in danger, and that she shouldn’t trust anyone.” Versio said. “There was no shooter, only a programmed droid. There was nothing for you to find, Agent Meeko.”

“Understood.” Del was relieved to hear that there was no way Iden could have been harmed, but Versio’s plan.. There was no way else to say it. Del was appalled by it. Pretending that Iden could have been assassinated to prove a point?

He had been willing, up to this point, to give Versio a chance. But this? This was too far. His true toxicity was exposed.

Del wanted to confront the man, but knew that he couldn’t. Not if he valued his job.

“Commander Hask, Agent Marana, you are dismissed. Agent Meeko- I would like to talk to you.”

Seyn’s eyes widened, again, and Hask had a kind of smug look on his face, but Del wasn’t scared. He needed to show no fear to help prove to Versio that he was worthy of his rank and title.

Versio walked over towards Del. He was short, for a man, no taller than his daughter, so about 1.75 meters. He held himself like he was taller, though, and folded his hands behind his back.

“Commander Hask seemed to think you had been losing focus during your missions lately. Is this true?”

“Yes, sir.” Del responded, which surprised Versio a bit, but he didn’t show it. “As you probably know by my file, I was diagnosed with hyperactivity in childhood. On our mission to…” Del honestly couldn’t remember the destination and it added to his tale. “On the mission before the Ja-Bess Incursion, I ran out of my medication and haven’t been able to make it back to a doctor for a new prescription. It’s dangerous just to order a new one in case you need a different dosage”

“Is that so?” Versio began pacing in front of Del, trying to make him nervous. It didn’t work.

“Part of it, sir.”

“And the rest?”

Del rocked back and forth on his heels, and forced himself to remake eye contact as he could sense Versio’s growing unease.. “Commander Hask told Agent Marana and I during leisure time of his plans to marry your daughter. I am concerned for her safety, that’s all.”

“Speak freely, Agent Meeko. I know that isn’t the reason you care for my daughter. I have talked to her as well.”

Del’s mind screamed that this was a trap. If Versio really had talked to Iden, she hadn’t mentioned it.

But he decided to tell the truth. It would likely keep him out of trouble.

“Several years ago, right before I was discharged from the stormtrooper corps I was wounded and stranded on the planet Svaaha. My unit left me behind, for dead, but Iden and... her mother, they saved me and took care of me for a few weeks until I was healthy. We grew… close, and it seemed like Ms. Versio had already decided I was going to be her son-in-law by the end of it.” Del smiled and then coughed awkwardly before continuing.

“We stayed in contact via datapad for several months, but right around Scarif, when you requested me for Inferno Squad, I misplaced the datapad and we fell out of contact and only reunited when you brought her to Coruscant. I never knew that she was your daughter, she… never mentioned it.” Del decided not to mention the fact that Iden had near visceral reactions to the thought of Versio, and instead omitted it. “We’ve been close ever since.”

“I see.” Versio mused, a bit surprised by the story. He hadn’t expected it to go like that. He had expected it to be a one-off romance he could convince either Meeko or Iden away from. But that didn’t seem the case.

As for what Meeko had said about Zeehay… Versio hadn’t really loved her around and after the divorce, but he respected her. And she seemed to have liked Del, and to be completely honest… He didn’t see much difference between the two men of Inferno Squad. A Hask and Versio alliance would be most valuable, but it would be loveless, and Versio didn’t consider himself blind to the nervousness Iden exhibited around Hask. And the way he had hurt her? Looking at Del, it was clear he would never do such a thing. Both men were strong, physically, but Meeko was more intelligent. Hask may have been top of his class, but he wasn’t intelligent. He had been smart. There was a difference.

And Iden really, truly loved Meeko, even if it would be odd to ever think of the tall, green eyed brunette as a son-in-law.

“Do you wish to marry her, Del?”

Slightly caught off by the informal address, Del gulped. “Yes, sir. With your permission. When the war was over I would have asked for her hand so you knew I was genuine, but-”

Versio cut him off with a hand,considering. Meeko was a man of tradition: polite, cultured. Hask had simply just assumed that one day Iden would be given to him, but Meeko… he was going to ask _permission_. How admirable.

Del’s stomach suddenly began to turn. This may be it. The moment of truth. He watched as the older man approached a table in the room and picked up a bottle of whiskey. He poured two glasses, and handed one to Del.

“To the end of the war, then.” Versio said, raising his glass.

“To the end of the war.” Del echoed, also raising his with a polite nod.

They drank.


	7. Chapter 7

Del’s mind was racing after that talk, and when Iden snuck into his room again, and Del told her everything that had happened, she was surprised, but ecstatic.

“I don't know what it means. I’m assuming it was yes?”

“You know, I- I really think so! I think it was as close to it as we would ever get.” Iden exclaimed happily, and wrapped her arms around Del’s neck as they hugged.

“Only problem is… I don’t know when this war is going to be over, and I can’t stand any more of Hask’s….” Del pursed his lips. “Well, his… being Hask.”

Neither Versio nor Del had seemed to let Hask know of the development. The younger man would still constantly make comments like “enjoying it while it lasts?” to put Del on edge and confused.

“Well, then, what if we don’t wait?” Iden suggested.

“Hmm?”

“I mean, you got your permission.” Iden said, swaying a bit and biting her lip with a smile. “I wasn’t going to invite anybody anyway.”

Del momentarily thought of his parents, but- who was he kidding? This idea sounded nice, and everybody would understand.

“You mean just… elope?”

“If you have to call it that.”

“Okay. How?”

“I… I don’t know. You’re the one who lived here!”

“And I had all the time to check out marital issues. I don’t know, but I bet we both know someone who does.” Del grinned after that, and Iden read his mind and began tugging on his arm.

* * *

“Married!” Seyn squawked. “You want to get married?!”

“Shh! Keep it down!” Del begged, as Hask’s suite was right next to Seyn’s.

“We thought you already knew that.” Iden said.

“Well, yes.” Seyn admitted. “But I did not expect it to be the reason you knocked on my door at 2300. I was just about to get in bed!”

“So were we.” Iden said as Seyn opened the door and stopped a moment at Iden’s words, and then shivered and shook her head to rid her mind of the vision she had just caught as she let them in the room.

Del had never been in Seyn’s room before for multiple reasons. One, he didn’t want it to be perceived wrong- two, they usually talked out in the open area where the crew also played games during leisure time.

But Seyn’s room was…. genuinely impressive. It was like walking into a library with a bed in one corner. Walls and walls of datapads and discs lined the walls, and Del had no doubt Seyn had read all of them with her reading speed of 4000 words a minute.

“Problem is,” Seyn said as she opened a datapad. “The Municipal building in this sector doesn’t open until 0900 tomorrow. And we’re shipping out…”

“0830.” Iden frowned. “So that won’t work.”

Seyn was again typing furiously away until she found what she was looking for, a wedding certificate.

“If you two promise to officially do it later, I could always forge one for you that will at least get Hask off of your case. Every other day the Municipal building opens at 0700 and I doubt he’ll check the time too much.”

Iden and Del exchanged glances. Would that be enough?

“Would it fool my father?” Iden wondered, and Seyn shook her head.

“I doubt it.”

“What if Hask goes to your father if he finds out, Iden?”

“Or….” Seyn said quickly. “I’m willing to bet someone in there owes me a favor.”

Del looked at her curiously and she shrugged. “What? I get around!”

“That works, Seyn.” Iden just sighed and smiled.

Seyn grinned a teenager’s grin. “I’m on it.”

Back in Del’s room, Iden curled up against Del, using his lap as a pillow like she frequently did.

“So…” she began, and Del stopped gently playing with her hair.

“So, what?”

“Are you ready to get married, Del?”

“Of course. It’s just a bit unconventional. But I understand. Every day we don’t do something is another day I feel like you aren’t safe.”

“It’s half of any wedding. I’m pretty sure all my parents did was sign the papers and get the signature and stamp from the judge. Lots of people do it.”

When Del was still having second thoughts, Iden turned over onto her belly and sat up so she was in his lap. He looked at her and met her for a kiss. Another.

“If you really want a small ceremony or celebration, we can do that after you get back.”

“What do you take me for?” Del asked. “I’ll always come back.”

Iden just gave him a look, a grin, and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him once again. A reassured Del responded eagerly, winding his hands around her waist and burying one in her hair. She moaned, slightly, when he pulled on it and he deepened the kiss.

Iden wanted to melt right there. She slid her hands to his chest, feeling all the muscles underneath her fingertips, and the absence of hair, making Del warm and soft and smooth.

Del’s hands wandered, too, under her sleep shirt and down her back so she shivered and he felt her move against his hips. He let out a strangled groan, but-

“Remember, Iden-“ Del whispered in her ear. “We’re not married yet. I’m sure both our mothers would kill me if I didn’t keep you an honest woman.”

Iden growled playfully but settled down. It was true, she knew, and her mother had done so much for her it would be insensitive to ignore her memory like that.

“Soon.” He whispered. “And after we return from Corva. The Rebels are trying to take Sullust, and we can’t allow for that.”

“No, we can’t.”Iden said sadly, annoyed, and he held her closer, kissing her hair. “We knew what would happen if I left Svaaha. I’m just thankful that it still worked out, aren’t you?”

Iden nodded against his chest. It wasn’t the perfect reality, but she was still thankful Del was hers. And tomorrow, she would be his. Nobody, not Hask, or even her father, an Admiral, could take that away.

* * *

And so, Iden, Del and Seyn all set off for the Municipal building in the morning while Hask was getting a cup of caf. He looked at them suspiciously, but when Del said “we’re getting married, would you like to come along?” He just grumbled and looked away.

Iden elbowed Del in the lift. “Why did you do that?!”

“He was never gonna think I was serious.”

Iden saw that logic and shrugged. “I dunno. I was kinda hoping he’d come with us just to see the look on his face when he sees that you aren’t bluffing.”

“I’ll be sure to get extra copies of the marriage certificate and decorate his room with them. I’m sure I’ll make a fine interior decorator.”

“And I’ll help you with that.”Seyn assured Del. “We all will.”

“I mean, not to brag or anything,” Del said, standing a bit higher “but I got a toast from the Admiral himself. Not much more of a higher honor than that.”

“Oh, wow, what a hotshot. The ladies must love you.” Seyn rolled her eyes.

“Well, I’m a one-man kind of guy, sorry miss.”

The banter continued between them all the way until they got to the municipal building. Del and Iden took each other’s hands and Seyn took the lead as they met with a representative, Tarlo Arken who Seyn had met during her time in Intelligence. She’d cleared up some business for the man and rescued him from a severe frauding mishap on his account.

“Did you apply for a marriage license prior to today?” Arken asked Del and Iden.

Both of their eyes widened. “A what?”

“You have to have a valid marriage license before you can fill out the certificate.” Arken tapped on a datapad, and Iden turned around to look at Seyn questioningly. Like hers, the girl’s eyes were wide and she looked just as confused as they were.

“How… how long in advance?” Del asked.

“Just seventy two hours.”

 _That may be too long_ , Del thought nervously.

“There are exceptions, though.” Arken continued. “Do you have a waiver?”

‘Uh, no.”

“Is either one of you on active duty in our military or navy?”

Del looked down at his rather obvious naval uniform. Arken shrugged. “Sorry- I had to ask.”

“Does that mean we can go ahead?”

“Sign here.” Arken said, slipping a form across his desk. It was old fashioned paper, just like Del’s original conscription papers. He signed the required information, awkwardly holding an old fashioned pencil, and then it was as if a giant weight was lifted from his shoulders as he slid it over to Iden.

“I didn’t know you have a middle name.”Iden told Del, then pursed her lips and looked towards Arken. “If I don’t?”

“Just leave it blank.”

Iden’s hand trembled, but not with nervousness as she obeyed. And then when she finished,Seyn came forward and signed for the required witness, grinning as she did so. Arken finished with his signature as an officiant.

“Congratulations.”He said, and Iden and Del stood and thanked him, each shaking his hand as they headed out of his office.

“Now I know there’s not a lot of time for us, now, but-” Del slipped a ring from his pocket and placed it on Iden’s finger. He leaned forward, and whispered in her ear: “Maybe you can wear this around certain people.” He withdrew with a wink, and Iden threw her arms around him and kissed him.

Seyn, who had conveniently been looking down at her datapad, cleared her throat. “Sorry, guys, but- Del and I need to be getting to the _Corvus_ before Hask gets suspicious.”

“And I should be getting back to my father.” Iden said mournfully. She let go of Del’s hands reluctantly. “Be sure you come back.”

“Always.” Del said back, and then Seyn and he were walking in one direction and soon she was taking the lift back up to her apartment. Her father was actually gone on business, but still she retreated to her room, where she played with her new ring. She didn’t know how Del knew what size to get (she suspected Seyn may have had something to do with it), but appreciated the fact that the ring was simple, but still elaborate. Del knew what was special to her, and it wasn’t complicated jewelry. Most people would just see an engagement, not a wedding ring.

When Iden was alone, sometimes she would write letters to her mother, and secure them in a locked holopad. She wasn’t sure when she’d begun the process, but now there were dozens of them, telling Zeehay all about her friends and her life now, and her fights with her father.

_You were right, mama. He’s a complicated man, but- lately he hasn’t been too bad._

Iden went on to pour her thoughts about the past few weeks, about how surprised she had been when her father had agreed to let Del marry her and how they had eloped but were disguising it as an engagement on the outside because they were scared about what Hask would do.

Del, on the other hand, used his new marriage to strike passive-aggressively towards Hask. He conveniently left his datapad open with a display of the marriage certificate on his bed, hoping that Hask would see. When he was free, he couldn’t help but read over it a few times just for the satisfaction of seeing his name and Iden’s joined in matrimony.

* * *

A week later, all of the Empire knew of its defeat, and of the Rebel fleet gaining control of Sullust. Certain members were in disgrace, but Inferno Squad was not reported at the scene (they rarely were reported, even in places they were definitely present at.)

Suffice to say, it put her father in a sour mood. He managed to notice Iden’s ring, though, and gruffly asked who it was from.

“Del.” Iden answered. “He got it for me before Inferno left for Corva.”

“How nice.” Her father commented, sipping a glass of wine. “He seems like a pleasant fellow, more so than Hask.”

“I sure think so.” Iden said. “And dad? Thanks.”

Admiral Versio didn’t respond, but his eyebrows raised in what may have been a slight smile hidden behind his glass.

Iden rushed for the landing pad, where Inferno Squad disembarked in self- disgrace. Seyn looked downcast, Hask looked mad, and Del looked like he regretted something.

That was, until he saw her. His eyes lit up, and damning the company he rushed for the comfort of her arms.

Seyn cheered up a bit at the sight, and Hask began to glower.

“My father’s left for a conference tonight. Come home with me.”

He nodded, excited in multiple ways and parted from her.

“Commander Hask.” Iden said. “I’m here on behalf of my father. You and your team are to complete a recorded debriefing and then rest before he returns.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“That means you too, Del.” Iden said as the others filed away, pressing a finger to his chest. “I’m not kissing you until you shower. You smell terribly.”

His eyes widened, and then he was laughing. “A most dreadful punishment, Iden. But I would hate to upset you.”

She danced away from another one of his embraces and grinned over her shoulder. Del was home, and even if the Empire had suffered at least he hadn’t, and now they were together.

She walked back to her apartment and changed into something more befitting of a housewife than a woman who was playing stand in for her Admiral father. It was one she had made herself as her mother had taught her when she was a young girl. Back then she’d made several various crafts and read books in her free time, most of them fiction that she enjoyed.

The door chimed, and then Del strode inside. He, too, was dressed casually, in fatigues that made him look almost… normal.

Iden had long since learned to disable the recording system in the apartment and always did so when her father left. For moments like these-

She melted into his arms (and his kiss), and savored the warmth, the feeling of her new husband being safe in her arms. Similarly, Del cherished the feeling of Iden’s body pressed to his, the smell of her shampoo in her hair.

“So, what happened?” She wondered.

“No.” Del growled. “Not here. Not now.”

“I didn’t mean the mission.” Iden clarified, knowing of Del’s (usual) hate for discussing missions during their alone time.

“Rather well.” Del said, running his hands down her back and wrapping them around her waist. “I don’t think we’ve been foiled yet.”

She smiled against his lips, and leaned back to look at him. “Did you have dinner?”

“I ate before I came here. Figured you had done the same.”

“Well, forgive me for thinking of my husband after his return from a time void of” Iden leaned her head to kiss his neck. “Hot cooking and good food.”

“Know where I can get some?” He wondered, arousal growing as he appreciated Iden’s “hospitality”.

“Maybe.” Iden said into his ear and then he was capturing her mouth in his again, one hand sliding up to her hair as they kissed, and Iden began walking backward, leading him to her room, one of their sanctuaries and now their place to spend the night.

Neither of them were quite sure how the night was supposed to go. Del was only slightly more romantically experienced than she was, but you wouldn’t have guessed as their kissing became more frantic. His hands tangled in her hair and pulled gently, causing her to moan and open her mouth for Del to take over and gently graze her lip with his teeth.

Iden startled at the sensation, hands halfway up the inside of his shirt and he groaned as she pulled the hem of his shirt from his pants and undid his belt to let his pants hang loose. Del was a bit shocked at her eagerness, but retaliated easily, grappling at one of her legs to wrap around his waist. She obeyed, and then he was running his hands up the soft skin of her thigh, up to her ass and causing her to whine against his lips.

“Iden…” he whispered, “do you want this? Do you want to keep going?”

Heart racing, she nodded. “I’ve wanted it every day since you gave me that pathetic little kiss on Svaaha.”

He growled at the insult, because he had a good reason to have done that. It made something like this so much more special. Del leaned back slightly to allow her to take his shirt off, and then went back to kissing her, holding her securely against him.

Iden mimicked his action from earlier, biting down on his lip and he groaned, unintentionally squeezing her ass with both hands. The sound she made was so… exhilarating, unlike anything he’d ever heard from those pretty lips of hers, and his arousal grew more. If Iden knew what to feel, she could certainly feel it now.

Iden used her hands to gather her hair up and hold it against the back of her head, and he took the silent cue to slide the small sleeves from her arms.

He watched as her dress fell, revealing what could only be described as pure beauty underneath. Skin he had never seen before was exposed to him and only him, and in the moments he took to stare, Iden felt herself growing nervous.

 _What if I’m not pretty enough?_ She feared. Nervously, she watched Del eye her up and down a few times before-

“You’re so kriffing beautiful, Iden.” Del breathed, running his hands up her arms and down her sides, tracing the soft skin of her belly. “Absolutely gorgeous.”

With an almost silent sob of gratitude, Iden pulled him backwards and they fell onto the bed.

* * *

After Iden drifted off, exhausted and fulfilled, Del spent the better part of the night exploring every part of her beautiful body, running his lips and hands all over her, gently enough so that she barely stirred.

In the actual morning, she woke first, then turned around and greeted him with a smile, kissing him gently.

“Del?” She murmured, then she saw he was asleep and went quiet, admiring how peaceful the man who held her was as he slept: mouth open, just a bit, as he snored slightly.

His hands around her waist teased slightly, tickling her.

Iden didn’t necessarily want more sex, but she wanted more Del. She wanted him to wake up and see how she hid her body just barely under the sheet, if she looked any different in the morning light.

Not to say he wasn’t handsome. He was strong, and his face was…. well, he had dreamy green eyes that she could get lost in and thick dark,slightly curly hair for her to tangle her hands in.

And he was tall, and everything was, ah, proportionate to that.

As if he could tell she was watching him, Del murmured and opened an eye. He yawned, pushing up on his front arms like a cat. “Morning, sweetheart.”

She responded with a kiss. “Morning, dear.”

He frowned. “Dear? I don’t know if I quite like that.”

“Honey?” She tried.

Del’s face remained unimpressed and he almost began to nod off.

“Handsome.” Iden murmured in his ear.

“I’ll take it.” He decided. “Always need that ego boost.”

“You were right, though.” Iden said.

“Right about what?”

“I‘m sore.” Iden said sheepishly.

“Oh, is that so, dear?”

Iden cringed. “You’re right. That’s not as nice as I thought it would be.”

“Honey?” Del kissed her neck. He kissed her lips, and then an idea hit him. But he decided to use it for later.

“We should at least try to get out of bed.” He suggested. “At least brush our teeth. Maybe eat something. Then we can come back. I promise.”

He helped her up, and they each slipped into enough clothes to be modest if someone were to walk in. Del wandered to the ‘fresher, she the kitchen,where she fixed a simple breakfast, which Del kept trying to come up behind her and steal, bribing her with gentle neck kisses.

They didn’t even sit down. Del kept stealing bits from her plate and she even turned around and placed it in his mouth herself a few times. She was trapped in place by his hips, eating on her own until she was full enough. She was just about to tell him she was done when Del’s hands slid up her dress and to her waist. “Let’s go back to bed now.” He suggested, sucking on her neck.

“Oh, yes.” She squeaked, and he carried her away.

Their honeymoon had turned out to be a stay-cation, but that was already more than either of them could ask for. Time alone, without the thought of war or anything but each other.

The weekend was over much too soon.


	8. Chapter 8

And their time over the next several months became precious and scarce. Iden’s father seemed to find more missions, now that the Rebellion was stronger than the Empire would like to admit. They had amassed, stolen Imperial ships and gained too much support around the galaxy.

To be honest, Del didn’t care about the Empire anymore. He cared about not dying.

Then finally. _Finally_ , the night before Inferno Squad was set to leave and briefly join the rest of the Imperial fleet, at Endor, he found his way to Iden’s room amidst a bout of kissing.

That was one thing Del hated about hiding their legal marriage. They didn’t have their own room. They didn’t have their own apartment. Only a select few knew of their marriage, and those were simply the officiant and Seyn. Hask may have been suspicious, but still made the usual comments about Iden that made Del’s blood boil.

And the tabloids seemed to love all of the sneaking around.

“Iden, this Endor? It could be the end of the war, for real.” Del was excited, but he frowned a bit afterwards.

“What is it?” Iden asked.

“I, I just…. I have a bad feeling, that’s all.” Del said. “I can’t explain it. But when I come back, if you promise to wait for me….” Del leaned in and kissed her cheek.

“We’ll be free to live in peace. Like your father promised us.”

“I’ve missed you.” Iden said, and began to think of the rare moments she and Del were able to spend together as husband and wife. “I’ve missed… us.”

“I know, I know.” Del leaned forward and kissed her gently, and it still caused butterflies in her stomach, even if their sex last night had been wonderful. (Iden had gotten very good at dirty talk, and apparently, referring to herself as “the Admiral’s Daughter” drove Del insane).

“What if you don’t come back?” Iden murmured. “Del, what if this is the mission that becomes too much? Where I don’t see you again?”

“Relax, Iden.” Del said. “We’ve got the entire fleet, and another Death Star with a planetary shield. We won’t lose. Engineer’s honor.” He leaned down to kiss her. “Even Seyn isn’t worried, and you know her.”

“Okay. Whatever you say, Del.” Iden smiled a bit as she kissed his lips and rolled over him. “But I expect you to come back.”

“Should I bring you a souvenir?”

“Just make sure you bring back Hask so we can invite him to our wedding ceremony.”

“I’ll try. He’s even more reckless that you are.”

“What's that supposed to mean?”

He shrugged.

“I wish I could come with you.” Iden murmured, lying her head on his shoulder and tracing the tattoed Inferno Squad Insignia on the other one. “But I don’t think you’d like that.”

“Oh I would, but- I would stress out trying to take care of you.”

“Fair point.” Iden said. “I just have this terrible feeling, like I’m never going to see you again.”

“Relax. I’m coming back.” Del assured her. “Just like every other time. We’ll defeat the Rebels at Endor. We’ve already been crushing the Rebels' chances on Endor’s surface. In Inferno, we’re cleaners. So that’s what we’re going to do. I’ll be safe.”

Iden just hummed, and squeezed him closer.

Then she was seeing him and her father off, and waiting to hear from Del.

Later that week the Death Star II exploded, and Iden wept until her stomach hurt. Every ship near the station had been destroyed, and the _Corvus_ wasn’t responding to any communication.

* * *

“Iden?” Del said through his comm, hoping for an answer. “Iden? Are you there?”

On Coruscant, Iden shot awake at the voice she’d been waiting to hear. “Del! You’re okay!”

“Yeah, I am. We- we all are. Shaken, but okay.” Del sighed heavily, and ran his hand down his face. “I wish I could see you right now.”

“You can. Let me switch over to holo.” Iden pressed a button, and then they were looking at each other’s faces. Iden knew Del wouldn’t be surprised to see tears on her face, but, even Del had tear marks.

“Del?” Iden asked, quietly.

“My other brother.” He said, quietly. “Cade is gone. First Elias, and now Cade. I’m- I’m the only one left.”

“Del, I-“ she wanted nothing more than to put her arms around him. “Where are you going? I could meet you. I don’t care where it is.”

“We’re at Fondor. There’s a battle going on, but I have time to talk since I’m stuck here on the _Corvus_.” Sure enough, Iden could see the bridge of the _Corvus_ as his backdrop, and he was occasionally falling out of call to warn Hask or Seyn about enemy locations. “I’m not sure where we’re headed next, but I’ve been warned to be ready for a solo mission by your father. Something about an Observatory.”

“But what else is bothering you. Tell me.”

“I…” Del pursed his lips. “I’m second guessing this war. That’s all. I’d better not say anymore. And, just so you know, your dad’s now like, the head of everything right now. So good luck.”

“Thanks.” She said flatly.

“I’ll talk to you when I can. Love you.”

Then he was gone. The entire conversation had lasted hardly three minutes.

Iden put her holorecorder down and headed to the ‘fresher. She must have drank a ton of water before bed, because this was her third trip to the bathroom since she turned in early at 2000. She’d been so tired, and going to bed early seemed the only solution. But then, her cycle had come a few days late as light spotting instead of actual flow, so maybe she was actually dehydrated.

Puzzled, she went back to bed, burying her face in the pillow Del used in hopes that the smell of his cologne would help her relax.

Just second guessing the war, Del had said. Well, she’d never liked it in the first place. She wished Del had never been part of the stupid squad so he could retire and they could live somewhere in peace and raise a family. Iden grew up in cultures where kids were celebrated, and Del wanted a big family because “he thought it would be fun.”

The rebels seemed like reasonable people. After Imperials atoned, they’d likely be left alone. People like Iden would have hardly any debts to pay.

She went to bed with a vision of their possible future in her mind.

* * *

Del’s head was still reeling from meeting the Jedi on Pillio, but being forced to assist in Vardos destruction?

He couldn’t do it. From the look on Seyn’s face, she was horrified as well, just like when Hask had murdered the Dreamers in cold blood.

_A choice to be better. A choice to be better. A choice-_

He made his choice before even stepping foot on Vardos. Damn Hask’s orders and damn the Empire! Innocents were dying- this wasn’t like the military targets of the Death Star, this was like Alderaan again.

He couldn’t do it.

He would give up everything he believed in for a shot at fighting on the right side for the final moments of the war. And when the time came, he defied and overpowered Hask, and ran.

 _I’m sorry, Iden. I’m sorry._ She would hear of his defection from someone who wasn’t him, who couldn’t give her the full story and his reasons for doing so. Del had planned on leaving Vardos since the day he came back from Svaaha. He just hadn’t planned on it being so dangerous.

At least Seyn was still there. She could hopefully comfort Iden, identify with Del, and then maybe they would leave, too. Escape from the Admiral’s clutches and-

_Yeah, right, Del. You’ve just doomed everybody. You don’t even have a way to contact her, not without Imperial comms._

_I’m sorry, Iden._

_I’m so sorry._

* * *

A few days later Iden was back at her apartment, nursing a cup of tea for her upset stomach when her father marched in, flanked by Hask and Seyn.

At first, Iden’s heart dropped, fearing this was a “bad news” visit. But then, seeing the men’s expressions she realized that it was so much worse than that.

“Where’s Del?” She asked, fearing the answer.

“Are you blind?” Hask growled. “It’s all over the net. He deserted. He left you, the bastard.”

“Don’t call him that!” Iden said, but she was numb with shock. No, she hadn’t been paying attention to the news because she never did. It wasn’t worth it, but-

_Del? A deserter?_

_Second guessing the war._

No, he wasn’t just second guessing the war, he was second guessing the entire Empire!

_How brave. I wish I could do the same._

“You all came here just to tell me that?” Iden asked, and turned to her father. “Don’t you have better things to do?”

“If I have suspicions that my own daughter is a traitor, then I am very well going to be here to investigate it myself. The Empire can wait for a moment. I need to see how far the betrayal runs.”

“So you’re coming to me? Why me?”

“Because Del spent an awful lot of time talking to you.” Hask growled. “One can’t help but be suspicious if you were part of his choices.”

“I- I wasn’t! Del loved the Empire. And he wouldn’t betray it!” Iden backed up, slowly, towards the wall. Hask took menacing steps closer to her.

“He left you, Iden.”

_No, he didn’t. He has a plan. I know it._

“I’m placing you under house arrest.” Her father said, heading for the door.“You’re correct, I have other business to attend to but I believe Commander Hask has it under control. Agent Marana, search the rooms, and both of you let me know if you discover anything of note.”

Seyn nodded and began a not-too-careful search. Hask folded his arms across his chest and did his best to look intimidating. The only reason Iden was intimidated was because she was afraid he would grab her again.

“Can you at least stay outside my door? I’m not comfortable with you being in here.”

“Why? So you can contact your boyfriend? Give him more information?” Hask sneered.

“So I can sleep.” Iden corrected. “I’m sick, and I’m tired, and I actually have a doctor’s appointment scheduled tomorrow but I guess I can’t go to that anymore, can I?”

Hask pursed his lips. “How sick _are_ you?”

“None of your business!” Seyn interrupted, taking Iden’s side. “Stop being such a bully and just wait outside!”

A bit shocked, Hask raised his eyebrow but decided that two angry women weren’t worth the risk. “Very well.”

When he was gone, Seyn turned to Iden. “Iden… I- I don’t know where to begin. I’m as shocked as you are.”

“He has to have some kind of a plan.” Iden sniffed as she sat down on the nearby couch, tears gathering in her eyes. Why was she so emotional? There was no need for her to be crying.

“If there’s anything I can do…”

“There is.” Iden said, and slid Seyn her datapad and unlocked it. “Tell Hask you found this. Make sure he goes looking through it.”

“Why?” Seyn asked, confused. “Won’t he find your marriage certificate?”

Iden nodded. “Exactly. And he’ll go running to my father. And he’ll-“ Iden cut herself off suddenly with a wince.

“Iden?” Seyn asked, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder as Iden doubled over.

“I’m fine.” Iden said, straightening after a few moments. “It’s just cramping. It’s been happening off and on and part of the reason I’m going to the doctor.”

Seyn nodded, and stood to go show Hask what she had “found”. There were messages to and from Del, but they were a waste to read, if not just Del telling Iden how much he missed her and Iden saying how glad she was that he was alive again. They didn’t call each husband and wife over their messages, but- there was still the blatant certificate in one of the background tabs.

“No messages?” Hask grumbled.

“No, sir.” Seyn shook her head as Hask looked around. “And no Rebel propaganda of any kind. I think she’s clean.”

“Think is not strong enough, Agent.” Hask insisted, handing it back to her. “She’s hiding another. She’s got to be.”

“Maybe you should just look for it yourself. You know exactly what you’re looking for, so it’ll be over quickly.” Seyn knew she had a voice that made even sarcasm sound pleasant, and used it quite often.

“Iden doesn’t want me in there. I’m not stupid.”

“No, just dumb…” Seyn murmured, and turned back. She was going to tell Iden what happened, but saw that she was asleep and decided against it, knowing how hard sleep had to come for Iden at a time like this.


	9. Chapter 9

Del was surprised and even a little too comfortable with the treatment from the Rebels, but- apparently mentioning he knew Luke Skywalker made him somewhat important.

The crew of the _Corvus_ , (most had defected with Del, who was familiar with them, instead of staying with Hask) were allowed to stay and go as they pleased. The ones who came and switched sides with Del included Captain Adiana Caton, which surprised Del as he thought she was ultimately loyal to Hask, the commander.

“No, I’m loyal to my conscience. And Cinder did the same to me as it did to you; it opened my eyes.” She said, and Del appreciated that.

Even if Caton hadn’t fought beside him at Naboo, where Del met the chatty Calrissian and the sarcastic Shriv, she still gave all the information she could to the latter in Del’s absence.

Though guilt tugged at him as he realized Leia Organa, the princess Leia Organa, had no idea who he was and immediately trusted him to fight at her side. Del wondered if he would have to betray someone again, only this time it was a betrayal of trust rather than a betrayer of sides.

He fiddled with Dio, absently, and did his best to formulate ideas in his mind. _Yes, your highness. I know what I’ve done and I-_

_I’m sorry, your highness. I I- don’t know what to say._

He wasn’t ready by the time she did come up to him, with three whispering soldiers behind him.

“Great work!” She praised. “But I’d expect nothing less from Inferno Squad.”

Del didn’t make eye contact. “So you’ve spoken to General Calrissian.”

“Your team did a lot of damage to this alliance.” Leia wasn’t speaking harshly, yet her words were daggers into Del’s soul. Wounding him.

The moment came and he didn’t say anything.

“Why are you fighting out there, Del?” Leia said, voice softer. “Why did you change sides?”

“I… It’s a long story ma’am.” Defecting wasn’t, but the ideological choice behind it was.

“Walk with me, then. One of our techs can look at your droid.”

“Actually, I’d prefer it if I repaired him myself.”

“Oh.” General Organa blinked. “Right, I forget, you’re an engineer.”

In that moment, Del was reminded painfully of Iden. He wasn’t sure why- Iden and Leia looked nothing alike, but they acted and talked alike. And he hadn’t seen Iden in real time for so long he was really starting to miss her.

So Del told her a bit of everything, pulling from his early time as a stormtrooper and experiences with the death of his brothers, and the early battles of Scarif, and the destruction of Alderaan. He talked of how he would have retired if it weren’t for being selected as part of Inferno (20 years as a stormtrooper was enough to retire, no questions asked), and finally, he got to Iden.

“She feels the same way I do about the Empire.” Del told Leia. “But she’s trapped. And I’ve likely doomed her. She’s probably being investigated right now. And if her father, Admiral Versio has any suspicions that she’s a traitor- he’ll kill her. No questions.”

Leia put a hand on Del’s shoulder. “You upheld the bargain with Shriv. You’re free to go and help her, now, and you both will be considered pardoned.”

“I would be traveling into the heart of Imperial space, ma’am. Right now, I think the only possible way to help my wife-“ Del took a deep breath. “Is to join your side, the right side, and win the war as soon as possible.”

Leia’s eyes twinkled a bit, but she smiled with half pride and half determination. “Welcome to the New Republic.” She said, and shook his hand.

* * *

Iden awoke the next morning to an alarm. She mumbled angrily, but then as she turned over to set it to snooze someone else stopped it for her.

“Get up.” Seyn said. “We’re going.”

“Where?” Iden yawned, stretching her arms wide above her head.

“To your appointment. Hask won’t stop us if I go with you. I mean, unless he _wants_ to go to a woman’s checkup.”

Iden found that slightly amusing and scoffed a bit, then turned to get out of bed and change into the dress Seyn readied for her. It was early, somewhere between 0700 and 0730 because Iden figured they’d have to do bloodwork.

“I dreamed about Del.” Iden said, sadly. “I dreamed that my father forced me to attend his execution for deserting, all the while telling me how he “told me so”. Guess who pulled the trigger?”

“Hask.” Seyn said.

“Yep.” The two women slid out the door and they thought past the man in question but they weren’t successful.

Hask’s hand shot out and grabbed the wrist of Iden’s left hand. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“We already told you, Hask.” Iden tried to twist away, but he held firm. Then, his eyes settled on the ring she wore on her ring finger.

“Who gave you this?” He demanded.

“Del.” Iden said. “Let go, Hask. Please. I’m going to be late.”

Hask squeezed tighter. “Why did he give it to you?”

“Why do you think?” Iden shot back. “Marriage.”

She didn’t specify if it was because they were getting married or because they were already married, but it didn’t matter much to Hask. Either way was an insult to him.

“Without your father’s permission?” Hask said.

“Actually-“ Iden interlocked her fingers and pulled upwards with both hands, using extra force to free herself as Seyn had taught her. “My father gave him express permission, right after you tattled on Del like a child and you hurt me at the gala!”

“We’ll be back, Hask.” Seyn said, getting between the two of them as if her petite body would do much. But Hask was, surprisingly docile at the moment, shock written on his face.

“I hurt you?” He asked, as if he didn’t know.

“Yes.” Iden said pointedly, rubbing her now sore and red wrist.

He looked visibly shocked, as if he truly wasn’t aware of what he’d done, but he didn’t apologize. When they were almost out the door, he yelled after them. “I’ll need the doctor’s report as proof!”

Seyn flipped him off where Iden couldn’t see. Their walk over was unusually silent, usually they chatted like sisters, but Iden didn’t say anything, and sat down and filled out the paperwork in the doctor’s office and went back silently when her name was called. Seyn didn’t pry- she was the same way when her friend, the fourth and missing member of Inferno Squad died.

When Iden came back out into the waiting room a few hours later, visibly shaken, Seyn was immediately up and in arms.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

But Iden didn’t say anything, just handed her a datapad to be kept for Iden’s own records. Seyn read over it in a second, afraid she would find something terrible, like the disease that had killed Zeehay. Cancer, maybe, if Iden’s face was any indication.

“I can’t show anybody that.” Iden muttered. “I can’t- but it’s already on its way to Hask.”

“Don’t worry. I’m sure I can-“ Seyn stopped mid sentence and had to slow down her reading speed for the actual diagnosis. “Oh no.” She breathed, and then looked back up at Iden.

“I’m going to need your help.” Iden said. “I’m going to need you to forge something, but you can’t tell anyone, not even Del if you have contact with him, about any of this.”

“Iden, don’t you think we should tell-“

“No!” Iden hissed, and Seyn reeled a bit. “I-I’m sorry I just-“

“Let’s get back.” Seyn cut in, eyeing how many people were around them. Let’s get back to your room and figure this out.”

The walk back to the apartment was just as quiet as the walk there, but now Seyn was actually working to hold Iden up and keep her moving. She was in an understandably fragile state, and her blood sugar levels were already low from skipping breakfast.

Judging by Hask’s nonchalant manner when they returned, he hadn’t seen the report. It had been a bluff, and if Seyn hurried, she may be able to do something but right now her focus was on Iden only. Getting some food into her, making sure she was okay before she started on the project she was given.

“What’s all that?” Hask asked, indicating inside Iden’s room with a disapproving look.

“She’s just sicker than she thought. Skipping breakfast didn’t help.” Still, Seyn shoved by him with a little more force than necessary on her way back to Iden’s room.

Hask glanced down at the datapad with the report he’d asked for as proof. He hadn’t read it, but curiousity almost got the better of him. Whatever- Admiral Versio needed it to assure his house arrest was working out. It wasn’t for him to intrude.

He sent it off without a second thought.

* * *

Del didn’t usually pay attention to any news, but sometimes an article would catch his eye and he would deign to look.

Today was one of those days.

One of the headlines: “Admiral’s Daughter Disgraced!” Yet another, more of a tabloid was speculating about who the secret lover was (Del couldn’t help but chuckle at it) and began to read that one. It was all fake, as news was, all stemming from the fact Iden had been seen with a ring on her finger.

By the end of it he was amused, but something was nagging him about the other article, calling Iden disgraced. Looking closer at the picture he could tell that Iden looked upset, maybe even crying as Seyn attempted to shield her from the crowds.

If Del had been amused before, it quickly turned to disbelief and then anger. He didn’t want to believe it, couldn’t believe it.

But it was definitely an Admiral Versio thing to do. Something had happened. Iden must have made him very angry for him to go public with the knowledge that Iden was secretly married, and not just that, she was married to a traitor.

The news story included things about Iden, how betrayed Hask the “rightful betrothed” was, how angry Versio was. It saddened Del to know that the Admiral only considered him a worthy son-in-law if he were an Imperial.

And he hoped Iden was okay. He had no way of contacting her, and the only person who may be able to talk to him was Seyn, who it was obvious was sticking with her.

Del finished the article and sighed, leaning back in his bunk on the _Corvus_ for some quick shut-eye until there was a knock at the door. Caton was there, holding a datapad.

“Del?” She asked, looking apprehensive. Usually she wouldn’t knock on his door like this unless it was an emergency or they were all on downtime and something was being organized. And the rebellion had a lot of downtime.

“You saw the article, too? I know you must have a million questions, and I’m going to do my best to answer them, but-“

“No, Del…. I…” Caton rocked back and forth on her heels. “I think you need to look at this current article, not the one from a few days ago.”

Del re-checked the date on the article he had perused. Two days ago.

“It’s not an article, it’s a video.”

Puzzled, Del took the datapad and settled down to watch.

_This morning at 0500, the body of twenty-seven-year-old Iden Versio was found by her guard, Agent Seyn Marana of Inferno Squad. The cause of death has not been released, and neither has a statement from her father, the esteemed Admiral Garrick Versio. However, leaked information from one of Versio’s recent doctor’s visits seems to support a common rumor that she was pregnant. Lieutenant Marana informs us that orders from her father and pressure from Commander Gideon Hask to terminate her secret marriage could have contributed to her untimely death. Neither Commander Hask nor Admiral Versio were available to comment. As the investigation into her death unfolds-_

Del didn’t hear anymore.

Iden was- Iden was _dead_? His wife was _gone_? He refused to believe it: there were no pictures of her supposed corpse, nor of Seyn, so something nagged at him that this simply wasn’t true- it couldn’t be.

But that was just his hope talking. Iden was gone because he had failed her, by not being there to protect her. Iden was dead, and so was their- their _child_ , if that much had been true.

“Thank you-“ Del’s voice caught as he turned to Caton, and he cleared his throat and repeated in a hoarse voice.”Thank you for showing me.”

“Of course, Commander.” Caton said, and began to walk out. Then she turned. “If there’s anything I can do-“

“Please just leave me be.”

She did, and Del took a few calm, steadying breaths. They did nothing. He still exploded into rage, and grief, and began to throw things and yell at the wall.

It didn’t make him feel better.

Dio blipped sadly and floated towards him. The droid was one of the only reminders Del had of Iden while he was separated from her, as the droid had memories stored up in his databanks.

“No, buddy. I don’t want to look at them. I have something else for you to do.” Del looked straight at the droid as if it were a person. “I don’t care how you do it, but I need you to contact Seyn.”

More affirmative warbling. Del would work on the project too, of course, but Dio was much more equipped for hacking networks and bypassing Imperial comms. Plus, he could work while Del had to lead.

Though he hoped he didn’t need to do so for a while. His mind was clouded, his heart was heavy, and now all he could think about was Iden.


	10. Chapter 10

Hask had tried to blackmail Iden, telling her that if she were to just calm down and “take care of it”, he wouldn’t tell her father.

Iden knew well that her father already knew from the report he had sent on.

Hask went on to say how her marriage to Del hadn’t even been real, that she should feel no shame in terminating a bastard pregnancy. Seyn jumped in next, shoving the datapad with the certificate in his face and warning him to shut his mouth.

Then they had planned her death, after Seyn forged another second doctor’s report saying that she and Iden had returned to the doctor’s to do as was asked. Iden even let herself be caught looking upset on the steps of the clinic for possible news and tabloids to pounce on.

Seyn was a genius, and she knew it. She had learned to read at age two, was building electronics at age seven, and doing graduate level math during secondary school.

She was able to cook up a convincing fake-death for Iden pretty quickly. Imperials didn’t care much for bodies anyway, so nobody batted an eye when Iden’s was secretly spirited away before things got too public. Seyn got her away from the room and to an offworld transport that didn’t ask any questions as to where you were going. Seyn and Iden became Imperial refugees, even if Iden had been surprised by Seyn’s joining her.

“What are you wearing?” She asked, seeing Seyn in a plain looking, almost homespun appearing dress.

“A dress.” Seyn said. “One of yours, actually. I’m coming with you. If you aren’t going to tell Del, I’m staying instead until I know you’re safe.”

“Okay.” Iden said, and then smiled a bit, even if Seyn couldn’t see it beneath her hood. She nervously read the route for the transport. “It looks like we’re going to have to change ships to get to Svaaha.”

“Svaaha?” Seyn asked, perplexed. “That’s where we’re going?”

“I told Del if we were ever to get separated that he should make his way to where it all began. If there’s any hope for us ever being together again, being a family…” Iden’s breath hitched a bit, thinking of that. A future, maybe not with Del. “You’d think Del would be getting a lot more publicity right now, what with him being a traitor and joining the Rebels and all. I have no idea where he is or what he’s doing.”

“I can figure something out. A one way monitor, if you will.” Seyn offered.

Iden thought for a moment. “No.” She decided. “Del thinks I’m gone, and that may be a good thing. He won’t be distracted, he’ll be motivated.”

“If you change your mind…” Seyn trailed off, and lifted her legs onto the tiny bench they were sitting on. Her dress was long enough that she was able to hide her legs under it, and a few moments later, she was asleep against Iden’s shoulder.

“Goodnight, Seyn.” Iden whispered, and pulled her closer.

* * *

Del needed to sleep, but found that he wasn’t doing it very well.

It had never been much of a problem, albeit the best of his sleep was always with Iden at his side, preferably in his arms.

But now she’s gone.

He turned, again, in his sleep. Expecting nothing, he closed his eyes, but then he was dreaming.

Opening his eyes he saw the Svaahi sunset, Iden lying next to him.

“I… I want to kiss you.”

And then he did, kissing her slowly and sweetly, savoring her warmth, the way she smiled at him so lively. He felt her pulse under her skin, and held her as they separated.

“Please, don’t leave.” Iden begged.

“Never.” Del breathed, and kissed her again. “Not now. Not ever. And damn the consequences.”

He rolled on top of her, gently kissing her some more, and she smiled under her until the scene changed a bit, Del could tell because Iden looked older, and somehow knew that years had passed, that Zeehay had passed and they had married and stayed on Svaaha, sleeping under the sky whenever they wanted. Like now.

“Del?” She asked, and he turned on his side to face her.

“Yes?”

“I need to tell you something.” She, too, turned onto her side and reached for his face. “First of all, I want to say that I love you, so much more than anything in this entire universe. Second, I wanted to tell you that…” Iden bit her lip and looked down a bit. “I’m pregnant.”

His eyes widened. “You are?” He gasped.

“Yes!” Iden was smiling, but then her face changed into one of fear. “Are you going to help me?”

“Help you with what?” Del smiled, blinded by happiness. “The baby? Of course I will, Iden. I love you so much.”

“Help me.” Iden repeated, and then suddenly she was melting away and Del was seeing her falling onto the floor of her room on Coruscant, crying and clutching her belly as Hask watched, face set in a hard scowl. Del rushed forward for Hask, meaning to push him down and fight him, but the man evaporated as soon as he made contact with him.

Iden didn’t. Del rushed forward to gather her in his arms as she fell. He held her, and combed hair away from her face as the scene changed again.

He was still holding her and looking down with her at the bundle of blankets and joy she held in her arms. Their new baby.

“Can’t you see, Del? She’s beautiful.”

Del reached over and pulled the blanket away from the baby’s face, but it was replaced by another layer. He pulled again, and again, until everything went dark around him and Iden disappeared, and a pile of empty blankets fluttered to the ground. When they hit, though, there was a sound like rippling. It had fallen into a puddle of blood.

The puddle turned into a lake, and then Del was drowning.

He woke in a sweat, tears streaming down his face as he realized what all had transpired.

_I lost… so much. All because I wasn’t there to protect her._

He got out of bed and Dio beeped as he followed him. Del splashed some water on his face to help clear his mind, but all he could see was the dream.

Hopefully the upcoming mission would help clear his mind. Hask and some Star Destroyers were on Bespin and Del was heading there to take care of them. And then? Who knows. Maybe he would be free to go visit Iden’s grave on Svaaha.

That was where he wanted to settle down, a bittersweet memory of how they had met.

Having experienced the death of those he loved before, Del was somehow able to push Iden to the back of his mind most of the time. But any glance at a couple or a family with children led him to nearly breaking down.

 _You’re fighting for others, Del._ He reminded himself. _So other people don’t lose spouses and children to the Empire._

_Yeah…. I’ll go with that._

It was only, barely enough.

* * *

He wasn’t surprised to see Hask and Admiral Versio on Jakku. He also wasn’t surprised when the former came straight for the _Corvus_.

Because killing Iden hadn’t been enough. Taking his _family_ hadn’t been enough.

If he didn’t have the bridge to look after, Del would have gone after Hask himself. Hask, in his fancy TIE interceptor and his bomber squadmates. He probably thought he was so big and powerful.

Big and powerful enough to pressure Iden into suicide.

Del had to settle for watching Shriv take care of it. Shriv wasn’t a bad pilot, but it took him several moments to figure out the way Hask’s ship moved. Valuable minutes in which the _Corvus_ received bombing run after bombing run to its hull.

“Reports say the Imperial Star Destroyer _Eviscerator_ is losing power.” Said a communications officer who was listening into Imperial chatter.

“How bad?”

“Its shield is down sixty percent, and four engines are down. There is not yet an evacuation order.”

“Shriv! Take care of those bombers!”

“Yeah, I’m trying!” The Duros snapped back. “Your buddy Hask is trying to make it a two person job!”

There were enough Republic ships flying about that Del was able to hail one for reinforcements against the bombers. He ordered Caton to keep the _Corvus_ close, but not too close to the _Eviscerator_. Part of him wished that Admiral Versio would try to call him, so he could give the man a piece of his mind before the Admiral went down with his doomed ship.

But he was not to do as much as to initiate a call. To seek out the man who had virtually killed his daughter.

“Full power to the rear thrusters.”Del commanded, crossing the bridge. “I don’t want to be caught in the gravity.”

“Commander, what are we doing?” Caton wondered, wanting to question Del’s orders.

“We are watching Admiral Versio get what he deserves.”

Nobody said anything. Nobody checked him on this sudden, ruthless behavior of his. Had Versio been merciful? No he had not. Hask was going to live today, that much was clear, but he would be left without an Empire. Del knew that was punishment enough for the man and his ego.

His eyes zeroed in on a downed medical frigate that burned as it approached the _Eviscerator’s_ pull of gravity. It was not going to strike the bridge, but the damage it would cause would likely lead to the deaths of everyone remaining on the ship. Including Admiral Garrick Versio.

Del wasn’t sure if he believed in an afterlife, or heaven, but he did know for sure that Admiral Versio would not be headed there. He liked to imagine Iden now blissfully unaware of any pain she had ever felt while her father burned forever.

The _Eviscerator’s_ nose crashed into the sands of Jakku, and Del stayed still, like a statue, for several moments.

“Are we done here, now, Del?” Caton asked questly. She may have understood, somehow, what that had meant to him.

“Yes. We are.”

* * *

Del hardly celebrated the victory at Jakku. He briefly looked over the ruins of Star Destroyers with Shriv and Dio, but while the others passed the night with drink and parties, Del shut himself in his room.

Dio warbled questioningly, and settled into his lap like a pet.

“I don’t know what to do now, buddy.”Del said sadly, and patted his head. Dio held out one of his arms and showed where one of his joints was off, and Del set to work on it.

As he worked, he realized that his comm, which he had silenced, was blinking in a way which meant he had received a message.

“Wonder who it’s from.” Del said to Dio, who jumped up and followed him over. Before Del could protest, the droid lashed out with an arm and pressed the button to view the message.

It turned out to have been a recording.

“I cannot begin to imagine what you must think of me.” Admiral Garrick Versio said, with more emotion than Del had ever heard him use. “I hurt my daughter in a way that no father ever should. I took her away from you, Del.”

Del stiffened, once again uncomfortable with the informal address. But he had to admit he was interested in what the Admiral had to say, in this recording that had to have been his final moments.

“She deserved to live in peace. And I took that from her. From you. In my blindness, in my rage, I destroyed my family with the guise of saving it.”

The Admiral had never apologized for anything, and never once uttered the words “I’m sorry.” But his words were still powerful, and Del understood what they meant. In his final moments, Versio had taken the time to record a message and acknowledge his mistakes for his son-in-law to hear.

“If things were ever to be different, perhaps I would have gotten the privilege of knowing you, and of rebuilding the shattered remains of a relationship. Maybe we could have been friends. Now, in the end, I realize how much you meant to Iden. And I wonder if, deep down, it was my jealousy that made me do the things I did.

I wish you happiness, Del. Remember, only the strong survive. So live, son. For Iden.”

Then he was gone. The message was over.

Del stared at it a few seconds, stunned. Then he began to shake with rage and grief and unshed tears, and made a fist with his hand, crushing the commlink and throwing it into the wall.

He fell back onto his bed, facing the wall and forced his eyes shut. Like it or not, he was going to sleep even if it killed him, because another stim or a caf would probably do that if he didn’t.

“I want to go home, Dio. I want to wake up with Iden in my arms and find out that this was all a nightmare.”

The droid blipped, giving his condolences and then asking a question.

“You’re right, buddy. Of course you are. We should try to find Seyn.”

Dio said something else.

“I think if she didn’t want to be found, she would have done a better job hiding herself.” Del said, viewing the star map Dio had projected.

And so, Del had a new mission. To find his friend, and the woman Iden had begun to call her sister.

* * *

He left the _Corvus_ under Caton’s command, knowing that finding Seyn was something he needed to do on his own.

She didn’t make it easy. Del spent months and months, bouncing planet to planet and always finding out that her signal was a planet ahead, that her signal was showing up somewhere else.

He finally found it settled on Svaaha. Seems she had the same idea as Del. Only it had been a long time, almost a year since Iden died.

Slowly, they began talking over commlink. Then hologram. And finally, Del told her that he wanted to meet her face to face, and Seyn agreed, saying he would meet her in a Svaahi cafe as soon as he was in the system.

He got there as soon as he could, when he had more fuel and supplies. Part of him wondered why Seyn hadn’t gone home, and wondered if she even had a family. On second thought, he didn’t even know where Seyn’s homeworld was.

The coordinates pointed to a place in the Undeveloped District, which awakened memories in Del’s mind he had been trying to shut out. He was confident he could still remember the way to Iden’s house if he was in town.

He waited for Seyn in the same cafe that Iden and he once ate at, all those years ago. Where she had confronted him about flirting with her, and the rest was history.

“Del?” Asked a voice from the entrance.

He stood, and Seyn came over. It was a good thing he’d arrived first, because otherwise Del would not have recognized her: her hair was long, now, down to her shoulders, and he didn’t know if it was from negligence or choice.

“It’s really good to see you.” He murmured when she came straight for a hug, her small body seeming so fragile in his arms, even if he knew she was anything but.

“I’m sorry I’m late. I had…things to take care of, and it’s really hard to keep track of the time here.” Seyn said.

“It’s just as nice as I remember.” Del said. “So, uh, why did you decide to come here?”

“It, well- It made me feel closer to Iden.” Seyn admitted sheepishly. “And my home planet wasn’t too much different.”

“I would have probably ended up here, too, after I found you.”

“Why did you want to find me?” Seyn wondered.

“Because, you’re my friend, and my teammate, even though I defected. You wanted to, also. And…. you remind me of Iden.”

Seyn raised an eyebrow. “I do?”

“Yes.” Del stirred around some soup. “Why didn’t you defect with me on Vardos, Seyn? Why did you wait?”

She flushed slightly, seemingly unprepared by his question. “I thought… I thought I could do more good on the inside. I was wrong. I’m sorry, Del.”

There were so many things Del wanted to ask her, but found that he couldn’t.

“So. What have you been up to?” Seyn asked casually.

“Well,” Del began. “The war is over, and Admiral Versio and the Empire are... gone. He left me a message before his ship went down, though.”

“What did it say?” Seyn wondered.

Del shrugged. “Nothing much. He wanted me to live because he took that away from Iden. He seemed genuinely sorry, and for a moment I was really sad he was dying. I would have liked to get to know him. You know, properly.”

“But the Admiral must go down with his ship.” Seyn said mournfully.

“I could have saved him, Seyn. I should have. Iden would have. I was just… so angry at him!” Del made a fist, and nearly pounded it into the table.

“So am I.” Seyn said through gritted teeth. “What about Hask?”

“I don’t know.” Del said. “But the war is over. That’s all I care about. We’re finally free of the Empire.”

He expected Seyn to be happy, but she didn’t say anything. She fidgeted awkwardly like she wanted to say something, but couldn’t.

Neither of them were hungry anymore and left the cafe. Walking through the Svaahi crowds. Del saw no more stormtroopers, no more Imperial flags. But there was still the normal danger. He stopped Seyn from walking into people instinctively several times, just like he did Iden.

He realized where they were walking and stopped, his legs suddenly turning into jelly. “Why are we going here?”

“I….Thought you may want to see Iden’s house.” Seyn said, sheepishly. “If you want to.”

“Maybe just from afar.” Del decided, and they walked further, to the edge of the dirt path leading to the house. “Is Iden buried there? Beside her mother?”

Seyn nodded absently.

Del thought he saw something, maybe an illusion, but he could have sworn he saw smoke from the chimney.

“Someone else lives there now.” It wasn’t a question.

Del raised an eyebrow when she didn’t respond. “Seyn?”

The younger woman’s eyes began to fill with tears. “I can’t take this anymore!” She yelled, and turned to Del. Her eyes were wild. “I should never have lied to you. Iden isn’t dead, Del. It was faked. She didn’t want to tell you so you could focus on the war and stay safe.”

His jaw went momentarily slack, but then he shook his head, “I- I can’t-“ his eyes flashed. “Don’t do this, Seyn.”

“No, please, Del! Come with me!” Seyn took one of his hands and began tugging him along, but Del was rooted in place, and he was so much bigger and stronger than she.

“Del.” Seyn said, very quietly. “When Iden came back here I was surprised, too, but she knew that eventually you would find your way back here to where it all began. But when it took too long I sent your droid a message. I didn’t want either of you to suffer any longer.”

Del’s heart began to beat faster, but then he saw a figure emerge from the house. He couldn’t see them clearly, but suddenly he knew that Iden, his Iden, was alive. Seyn was telling the truth.

He was home.

He ran for her, then skidded to a halt in the gravel, unable to stop the gasp that came out of his mouth when he saw her. She looked so.... radiant, in the Svaahi light. But that wasn’t all.

Tears gathered in his eyes. Iden smiled at him, almost sadly, and she had a dress on that reached down to her knees. But that still wasn’t all-

Iden walked towards him with slight difficulty, but Del wasn’t focused on that. He was focused on the glow of her skin, and the only thing stopping him from running close and hugging her was the fact that her dress caught around her belly, making it very obvious...

“So the rumors were true?” He asked, voice hoarse.

“Yes.” She said quietly, and he took a step closer to her and what she carried in her arms. “Del Meeko, meet your son.”

He didn’t speak as Iden slid the child into his arms and she leaned into his shoulder. The baby was so small, swaddled in the traditional Svaahi way so that only his tiny face was showing, with a hat covering his dark blotches of hair.

“He’s almost three days old.” Iden said. “He came a few weeks early when he heard his dad was coming home. But he’s strong nonetheless.”

“Just like his mother.” Del smiled as he held his son close to his chest. The baby yawned in his sleep, scowling identically to Iden.

And then Del looked into his wife’s eyes, then down at their baby boy, then back at Iden. “I was so foolish. I was so quick to believe a lie and I-“

“Shh, Del. It’s okay. I had to lie to you, remember. I knew what I was doing. I should apologize, not you.”

He leaned his head down to touch foreheads with her, and then it morphed into a kiss. It was like Del’s parched lips finally received water, and similarly Iden was overwhelmed. If not for the baby, she would have slid herself into Del’s arms and never let him let her go.

Seyn slid past the family and their tender moment, wondering how in the world the four of them (including the baby) were going to sleep in a tiny house. Maybe they wouldn’t stay. Now that Del was back, maybe she would move.

But she didn’t think about it too much.

In Del’s arms (which had adjusted almost naturally to holding a baby) the baby squirmed and fussed against the light of the brilliant Svaahi sun. Which led him to ask…

“Does he have a name?”

“Chaol.” Iden responded. Del looked at her, again, and she nudged his shoulder. “Go on, talk to him. He needs to know who his dad is.”

Almost reverently, Del lifted his son- _his son!_ \- closer to his face and whispered. “Hello, Chaol. It’s so good to meet you.”

He couldn’t believe that he was a father. Now it all made sense, the separation, the faking of Iden’s death… she did it because she knew it would work out. And Del wouldn’t mind if it had to happen again because now he knew the outcome.

“You’re my son, and I love you.” He whispered, bouncing Chaol ever so slightly.

He was going to mention the message from Iden’s father but didn’t feel like now was the time to. Maybe he never would, because the Admiral’s words were moot now. Del was home, and happy, and Iden was alive, also happy. Versio would never meet the grandchild he thought he had murdered.

How fitting.

Chaol began to cry, and Del could see the dark golden-brown orbs just like Iden’s underneath his tiny eyelids. Could Chaol even see Del? He wasn’t sure.

“How are you feeling, then? He asked her. “You look beautiful, as always.”

Iden scowled, brushing away his compliment. “Don’t lie to yourself, Del. I look terrible.”

“Iden.”

“I’m good,really. I went into labor less than half an hour after Seyn said you were coming home. Chaol really wanted to meet you.”

“And I him. I thought I had lost you two forever, even if I wasn’t positive Chaol existed.”

Then Iden asked the question: “Will anybody come looking for us? My father? Hask?”

Del lowered Chaol away from his face and let him settle in the crook of his arm. “Let’s go inside.” He suggested, dodging the question.

“Del…”

“Inside.”He repeated, already walking.

He had to duck to go in the doorway, so not much had changed there. There was the same table and benches, but the configuration of the counters have changed- all their supplies were on the counters instead of high on the shelves so they were easier to retrieve.

Chaol gurgled in his arms, and his tiny mouth opened in a yawn.

“He sleeps all the time. It’s the most wonderful, magical thing.” Iden said, sitting next to Del.

“Yeah, it is.” Del agreed, holding Chaol out in front of him, his legs in one hand and back and neck in the other. “I still can’t believe that he’s ours.”

“You’d better believe it.” Iden smirked. “Or all my work was for nothing.”

“Just in time to live without the Empire, I have a family to start over with.” Del mused. “No Hask, no Admiral… just us. How it always should have been.”

“Does that mean my father is…” Iden began.

“He’s gone, Iden.” Del said gently.

Her mouth opened in a silent “oh.” She didn’t say anything afterwards, and she didn’t ask about Hask.

Del brought Chaol close to his chest again, and Iden also slid an arm around their son and they held him together, in the tiny house on Svaaha where it all began.

They were home.


End file.
